Dr. Ray Pritchard Christian Blog and Commentary

Get guidance on Bible study from C.S. Lewis - Free Course!

The Great Blondin and True Saving Faith

  • Dr. Ray Pritchard
    Dr. Ray Pritchard is the president of Keep Believing Ministries, an Internet-based ministry serving Christians in 225 countries. He is the author of 29 books, including Stealth Attack, Fire and Rain,… More
  • Published Jun 15, 2012

This evening Nik Wallenda will attempt to walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls in an event televised by ABC. While he will be the first to attempt to walk directly across the precipice of the falls, he is not the first to walk a wire from one side to another. That honor belongs to someone else.

From his story we learn the true nature of the faith that saves us. 

In the nineteenth century the greatest tightrope walker in the world was a man named Charles Blondin. On June 30, 1859, he became the first man in history to walk on a tightrope across Niagara Falls. Over twenty-five thousand people gathered to watch him walk 1,100 feet suspended on a tiny rope 160 feet above the raging waters. He worked without a net or safety harness of any kind. The slightest slip would prove fatal. When he safely reached the Canadian side, the crowd burst into a mighty roar.

In the days that followed, he would walk across the Falls many times. Once he walked across on stilts; another time he took a chair and a stove with him and sat down midway across, cooked an omelet, and ate it. Once he carried his manager across riding piggyback. And once he pushed a wheelbarrow across loaded with 350 pounds of cement. On another occasion he asked the cheering spectators if they thought he could push a man across sitting in a wheelbarrow. A mighty roar of approval rose from the crowd. Spying a man cheering loudly, he asked, “Sir, do you think I could safely carry you across in this wheelbarrow?” “Yes, of course.” “Get in,” the Great Blondin replied with a smile.

The man refused.

That makes it clear, doesn’t it? It’s one thing to believe a man can walk across by himself. It’s another thing to believe he could safely carry you across. But it’s something else entirely to get into the wheelbarrow yourself.

It’s not enough to believe that Christ theoretically could save you. Until you “get in the wheelbarrow” and trust all to him, you are not saved. 

But I have some good news for you. Jesus has carried many people safely across the great divide, and he has never lost anyone yet. You can trust in him!

You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free email sermon.