In the book of Mark there is a story about a man who goes to Jesus for help and he says to Jesus, "I do believe; help my unbelief." Now this phrase always seemed a bit odd to me and I can still remember sitting in Bible class trying to figure out exactly what it means. Well, I recently heard a story that helped explain it a little better (forgive me if you've heard it before and I completely mess it up).
There was once a very strong and talented man. And this man had a rope tied from one end of the Niagara to the other. A large crowd gathered and he said to the crowd "do you believe that I can walk across this rope?" They knew that this man was a very talented man so they shouted "yes, we believe!" So the man did it. Then the man took a wheelbarrow, and he said to the crowd "do you believe that I can push this wheelbarrow across this rope?" Again the crowd cried out "yes, we believe!" So the man did it. Then the man took several bags of concrete and placed them in the wheelbarrow and he asked the crowd, "do you believe that I can push this wheelbarrow full of concrete across this rope?" And again the crowd cried out, "yes, we believe!" So again, the man did it. Then the man looked at the crowd and asked "do you believe that I can push this wheelbarrow across this rope with one of you in it?" And one last time the crowd cried out "yes, we believe!" Then the man asked, "who will volunteer?" And slowly the crowd began to disappear until there was no one left.
"I do believe, help my unbelief." Help give me the courage to get into the wheelbarrow. It is easy to claim to believe in Jesus. It easy to rejoice at what He's done. It can even be easy to tell others about what He's done. But it's not always so easy to go up alongside Him, to put ourselves at risk, and to live the lives that He's called us to live. "I do believe, help my unbelief." But you know what the most beautiful part of getting in the wheelbarrow is? It only takes one to step up and to get in, and then others start to follow. Sure, you will always have those people who will laugh, make fun of you, and say that what you are doing is pointless. But what they don't get, is that life, true life, is on the other side of Niagara.
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