Tightrope Walking

In 1859 Charles Blondin, the French acrobat, walked across a tightrope suspended across Niagara Falls.

One day, thousands watched him as he pushed a bag of cement in a wheelbarrow along the wire, fifty metres above the raging waters, There was a great cheer when he reached the other side,

Then, Blondin challenged a nearby reporter: ‘Do you believe I can do anything on a tightrope?’

‘Oh yes, Mr Blondin,’ said the reporter. ‘After what I’ve seen today, I believe it. You can do anything,’ However, the reporter melted into the crowd when he was invited to put his trust to the test and get into the wheelbarrow,

But, there was a person there who did trust Blondin with his life, He got into the wheelbarrow and was pushed across the wire, As Blondin made his way high above the falls, people quickly placed bets on the outcome. It looked like any other easy conquest. Rut, when they were half way across the 566 metre journey of trust, a man with a heavy bet against Blondin’s success, crept across and cut one of the guy ropes.

Suddenly, the tightrope pitched crazily back and forth. Blondin fought for his balance, only seconds away from death, For, when the rim of the wheelbarrow came off the wire, they could both be pitched into the churning water. Blondin spoke, cutting through the terror of his passenger. ‘Stand up!’ he ordered. ‘Stand up and grab my shoulders.’

The man sat there paralysed.

‘Let go and stand up! Let go of the wheelbarrow! Do it or die!’

Somehow the man managed to stand up and step out of the swaying wheelbarrow.

‘Your arms ... put them around my neck! Now, your legs round my waist!’ said Blondin.

Again the man obeyed, clinging to Blondin. The wheel-barrow fell, disappearing into the frothy turmoil far below. The aerialist stood there, using all his years of experience and every trained muscle to stay on the wire until the pitching subsided a little. Then, inch by inch, he made his way across, carrying the man like a child. Finally, he deposited him safely on the other side.

Drive The Point Home, Graham Twelftree, p60

Two Worlds and One Faith

A story is told about Rabbi Joseph Schneerson, a Hasidic leader during the early days of Russian Communism. The rabbi spent much time in jail, persecuted for his faith.

One morning in 1927, as he prayed in a Leningrad synagogue, secret police rushed in and arrested him. They took him to a police station and worked him over, demanding that he give up his religious activities. He refused. The interrogator brandished a gun in his face and said, "This little toy has made many a man change his mind."

Rabbi Schneerson answered, "This little toy can intimidate only that kind of man who has many gods and but one world. Because I have only one God and two worlds, I am not impressed by this little toy."

Citation: Philip Yancey, in The NIV Student Bible (Zondervan, 1996)