Niagara Falls has always been a challenge to daredevils. One of the first to succeed in crossing the river gorge on a tightrope was a Frenchman known only as “Blondin.” In 1859 he made his first crossing; later he did variations: pushing a wheelbarrow, carrying a man on his back, blindfolded, and once stopping halfway across to cook an omelet!
Great crowds gathered whenever he performed his dangerous stunts. He had a cable across from Canada to the States and a platform built where he could begin and end his walks above the throng. When it was announced that he was going to perform, people lined the banks on both sides of the river, standing in a hushed silence as he grasped his balancing rod and made his way across from Canada to the States. There was nothing to be heard but the roar of the Falls itself until he reached the other side. Then the shouts of the onlookers were almost enough to drown the sound of the Falls!
He went back, and again there was that shout of acclaim. Then his attendant climbed up the ladder to his little platform and gave him a wheelbarrow. He set it on the cable, and then, without his rod, he started again over to the American side. He made it! As they were shouting and cheering, he stood there, and, looking down into the audience, he saw a little freckle-faced boy looking up with worship and awe on his face.
He shouted, “Little boy, do you believe I could put you in this wheelbarrow and take you to Canada?”
“Oh, yes! I believe!”
“Then come on up here!”
The little boy turned and ran, crying, “Mama! Mama!”
How many people hear the Word of God and say, “I believe!” but never really act on it. That little boy didn’t really believe; he just said he did. It is not enough to say, “I believe the Bible.” (“The devils also believe, and tremble.”)
What does it mean to believe? It means to take hold of for yourself. It means to put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and the work He did on Calvary-to receive Him as your Savior-to believe His promises for time and eternity.