JUMPING AND LEAPING

When I think of someone jumping, many varied images come to mind, both good and bad: jumping rope, the long jump in track, trampolines, volleyball, fearful reactions, and even suicides. But the "jumping" that seems to be universal is "jumping to conclusions." "Jumping to conclusions" refers to our tendency to make faulty assumptions based upon incomplete or inaccurate information. We are all guilty.

A biblical example is found in Acts 3:1-16. The Apostle Peter was used of God to heal a crippled man. The healed man had no problem recognizing that it was God who had miraculously healed him (v. 8), but the crowd, seeing what had happened, assumed that it was Peter's doing (v. 12). Peter not only corrected them for their misplaced credit, he used the situation to present the Gospel to those who were responsible for the death of Jesus just a few weeks earlier (v. 12-26). Peter's version of the Gospel included: 1) their responsibility for Christ's death (v. 13-15); 2) that the Lord's death was foretold by the prophets (v. 18); and 3) that God raised Jesus from the dead (v. 15, 26). Peter's "sermon" matches the Apostle Paul's description of the Gospel:

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

I love how the Bible describes the healing, and while I do not remember ever using the New Living Translation of the Bible, I found its rendering of the healing of the crippled man to be a more logical description of the progression that took place in the man's realization that he had been healed. It says, "He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them" (Acts 3:8 NLT).

One cannot prove that the Gospel is true, for if it could be proven, then no faith would be required. However, faith itself is proof to the believer. The great philosopher Voltaire said, "Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe." Pascal said, "Faith indeed tells what the senses do not tell, but not the contrary of what they see. It is above them and not contrary to them." Gibran said, "Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof." Trueblood said, "Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation." And the writer of Hebrews said, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1).

Rather than foolishly "jumping to conclusions," take the "leap of faith."