What a dangerous stunt! Should the man be admired for his courage or despised for his foolishness?
On October 11, 2003, Kirk Jones became the first man known to have plunged over Niagara Falls without assistance of any kind and live. Others did the feat enclosed in barrels and other containers, and in 1960 a boy survived a boating accident, going over the Falls wearing a life jacket, but this man was to do it with only the clothes on his body.
When sightseers at the stations above the Falls saw him enter the water and float over the waterfall, they thought it was a case of a man committing suicide. It wasn’t a suicide attempt. It was a man carrying out a stunt that he had contemplated for years. Headfirst over the Falls he rushed along with over 150,000 gallons of water a second. Down 180 feet he fell to the water and rocks beneath. Incredibly, Kirk Jones survived with only minor injuries.
So should such a stunt be admired or condemned? Most people without hesitation would despise it as madness. They would never consider committing such a rash act themselves. But there is another plunge that every man and woman will have to take, and it is pure madness to take it without the Savior. The plunge I am speaking of is the great passage from this life into eternity. It happens at death.
Like being carried over a great waterfall with irresistible force, those who die without faith in Christ will be plunged into the depths of a lost eternity. They will spend that eternity in the dark, miserable regions of hell. Christless they remained in this life, and Christless they will remain forever. Oh, they will see Him on the great white throne of judgment when all the wicked dead who ever lived are gathered together, but it will only be to hear Him announce their final sentence before they are sent away to the lake of fire.
It is madness and foolishness of the worst kind to live without Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners, because it is only through Him that any of us can ever hope to be saved. Many who reject the gospel message look on their rejection of God’s grace as an act of courage. They feel they aren’t afraid of death; they feel they can face what happens at death, and thereafter, bravely.
Such courage is not a virtue-it is madness!
Christ rose from the grave! He was seen of many after His resurrection! He did miracles through the Holy Spirit that should confirm the truth of His message to every rational soul. He spoke as no other man ever did. He said all those who would believe on Him would be saved, while all those who reject the gospel message would be lost. It is not courage that flies in the face of all this and rejects His message. It is madness.
Before you fall from the height of this foolishness into the abyss of hell, stop, and get out of the current that is pulling you over the brink. Stop, and take Christ as your Savior. Bend your heart and knee to Him in this life. He is supremely worthy of your trust as well as the trust of every other human being. He even now waits to see what you will do with this invitation. He will save you the moment you trust in Him, and He will take you out of all danger. The blood that was shed at Calvary’s cross has the power to wash the vilest sinner clean and make him fit for heaven. “The blood of Jesus Christ His [God’s] Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)).
Only Kirk Jones survived the unprotected plunge over the Falls. No one who ever passes out of this world without the Savior will escape hell.
It is not courage to live without a saving faith in Jesus Christ. End such rashness at once, and come to the Savior. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)). Trust the Savior at once, and you will be glad you’ve had that horrible burden of sin washed away. And your gladness will increase a thousand fold when in a future moment you get to heaven and see face to face the One who loved you so much that He gave His life for you.