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TOSS YOUR CAP OVER THE WALL

#1 · April 17, 2002, 9:56 am

Quote from Forum Archives on April 17, 2002, 9:56 am
Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>

TOSS YOUR CAP OVER THE WALL

There is a part of almost everyone that is thrilled when someone attempts the heroic. The pioneer, the successful entrepreneur, the victorious athlete, all speak to us about the ability of the human spirit to achieve monumental accomplishments when properly motivated. Vicariously, we share in their achievements and find hope for our own lives in their successes.

President John F. Kennedy's hero was his grandfather, and he loved to hear stories about his grandfather's boyhood in Ireland. One of these stories concerned how Grandfather Fitzgerald used to walk home from school with a group of youngsters each day. Sometimes these boys would challenge each other to climb over the stone walls along the lanes of the countryside. Now young Fitzgerald and the other boys were sometimes hesitant to dare the hazardous climbs, so they devised a way to motivate themselves to take the risk involved: they would toss their caps over the wall. You see, they knew that they dare not go home without their caps, so then they had to climb over the walls to get them.

There are times when all of us long to toss our hats over the wall. There are times when we hunger in our own way for the heroic--whether we want to change jobs, start our own business, go back to school, or whatever. There come those times in life when we feel the need to make a change.

I know of one young man in particular who decided to make such a change. He was thirty years old at the time, and he owned a successful small business which had been left to him by his father. He was secure; he was liked and respected by his friends and neighbors; and he was meeting his responsibilities. But he knew that this was not where he belonged. He felt called to a ministry--a ministry of teaching and preaching and healing. And thus, he threw his cap over the wall.

At first he met with spectacular success, and his reputation spread with amazing speed. But as his popularity increased, so did the number of his critics, especially in his hometown. Some of his closest friends tried to dissuade him from his insanity, and his family was also concerned for him. But he persevered in his new calling for three years, only to die an untimely death. As he hung on a tree between two thieves--feeling forsaken by both God and man--no one would have judged his life to be a success. But it was. For all of this took place around Nazareth almost 2000 years ago.

Mark 3:20-35 MKJV

(20) And again a crowd came together, so that they could not even eat bread.

(21) And hearing, those with Him went out to take hold of Him; for they said, He is insane.

(22) And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.

(23) And He called them and said to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

(24) And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

(25) And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

(26) And if Satan rises up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.

(27) No one can enter into a strong one's house and plunder his goods, except he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

(28) Truly I say to you, All sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and blasphemies with which they shall blaspheme.

(29) But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never shall have forgiveness, but is liable to eternal condemnation.

(30) Because they said, He has an unclean spirit.

(31) Then His brothers and His mother came. And standing outside, they sent to Him, calling Him.

(32) And the crowd sat about Him, and they said to Him, Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking for You.

(33) And He answered them, saying, Who is My mother, or My brothers?

(34) And He looked around on those who sat about Him, and said, Behold My mother and My brothers!

(35) For whoever does the will of God, the same is My brother and My sister and My mother.

Let us toss our cap over the wall. The world thrilled as Colonel Charles Lindbergh flew his little sprucewood plane solo across the Atlantic. As he was leaving the last stretches of land in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, he kept looking down on the forests and lakes and valleys and thinking that if an emergency arose he would land in that little clearing beside the river, or he would clear that little clump of trees and land in that lake. But soon there were no more clearings, no more clumps of trees--only ocean. His cap was over the wall.

James Freeman tells of touring Salt Lake City and visiting with his Mormon guide. The young man told him that his grandmother had come to Salt Lake City in the early days when the Mormons had first come to Utah. Apparently she had traveled all the way from Omaha on foot, pushing a handcart. Can you imagine that? Across deserts and mountains she pushed a handcart. But the people of her faith were waiting at the end of her journey. Her cap was over the wall.

Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat and a Christian back in 1944 who accepted an invitation from President Roosevelt to go to Hungary and help fight against Hitler's plan to destroy Jews. Time and again, Wallenberg risked his life, using his position as a neutral diplomat, to save men, women and children from the gas chambers. He climbed on top of deportation trains, handing out Swedish identity papers, and then insisted that those people be allowed to detrain. He personally established international houses where 10,000 Jews were sheltered. He used his own funds to provide for the poor and needy. It is said that Raoul Wallenberg almost single-handedly saved the lives of more than 25,000 Jews. . . all because he accepted an invitation to throw his cap over the wall.

Doesn't it make your blood run faster, to know that there are people who have charted a heroic course for their lives and seen it through?

Of course, no one has ever accomplished anything of note without critics. Winston Churchill, truly a man of heroic stature, was one of the most criticized politicians who ever lived. But he knew how to handle his detractors. Perhaps the most famous of Churchill's exchanges was one he had at a state dinner with Nancy Astor, whose own reputation for acid wit and instant repartee was considerable. During this dinner Lady Astor was compelled to listen to Churchill expound views on a great number of subjects, all of them at variance with her own strongly held views. Finally, no longer able to hold her tongue, she spat, "Winston, if you were my husband, I would flavor your coffee with poison." To which Churchill immediately replied, "Madam, if I were your husband, I should drink it." (Leon A. Harris, THE FINE ART OF POLITICAL WIT, (E.P. Dutton.))

Sometimes, as in Jesus' case, it is those closest to us who have the hardest time coming to grips with our dreams and aspirations. Husbands and wives especially have problems because of this sometimes. I like the story about the first grade teacher who was taking her pupils on a field trip to the local zoo. Each child was given a turn at guessing the names of the various animals. The camel, lion, giraffe, bear, and the elephant all were named correctly.

Then it got to be a little boy's turn. The teacher pointed to a deer and asked him if he knew what it was.

He hesitated for a long time, looking unsure of himself. So the teacher tried to prompt him by telling him to think of what his mother called his father at home.

The boy brightened up immediately: "So that's what a baboon looks like!"

I won't ask you if your spouse has ever called you a baboon. But I can assure you that anyone who seeks to make a dramatic change in their life is going to encounter criticism and tension. One author has called this the "Salk Theory."

Jonas Salk, that great doctor of medicine who pioneered polio research and discovered the Polio Vaccine, had a legion of critics he dealt with over the years. At one point, he made an interesting observation about the nature of criticism, which seems to hold true for any person who is successfully innovative.

"First," he said, "people will tell you that you are wrong. Then they will tell you that you are right, but what you're doing really isn't important. Finally, they will admit that you are right and that what you are doing is very important; but after all, they knew it all the time." (Michael and Donna Nason, ROBERT SCHULLER: HIS STORY, (New York: Jove Books, 1983). )

The best way to answer your critics, though, is to do as the builder of the Panama Canal did. He had to endure carping criticisms from countless busybodies back home who predicted that he would never complete his great task. But the resolute builder pressed steadily forward in his work and said nothing. One of his subordinates, irritated by the flak they were receiving, asked the great engineer if he was ever going to answer his critics. "In time," he said. "When the canal is finished."

There comes a time when we toss our caps over the wall in spite of everything the critics have to say. Nothing is ever accomplished by people who value comfort and safety and acceptance above all else. There comes a time for what is often called a leap of faith.

Of course the greatest adventure that one can start out on--the most spectacular, and often the most courageous change that can be made in a life--is that of becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. Now it is unfortunate that, for the most part, that statement will fall on deaf ears. All too often we confuse discipleship with membership in the church. Or we confuse discipleship for respectability. But there is certainly no particular risk involved to be respectable or to belong to a church. But, to become a disciple, to move from a nominal belief to radical truth, to move from a nodding acquaintance with God to a complete commitment of one's life, that is more of a challenge for the human creature than walking on the moon.

I was reading recently about Noel Paul Stookey's conversion to Jesus Christ. Some of you might know of him by the beautiful wedding song that he wrote. Others of you might know him as the second member of Peter, Paul and Mary. At one point in his life, Stookey was going through a time of searching and crisis. He was disturbed by the hypocrisy in his life. And he turned to an old Greenwich Village friend named Bob Dylan for advice.

Two things that Dylan said stood out in Stookey's mind: go for a long walk in the country, and read the Bible. Paul took the advice. He walked in the country, and it helped him sort out his priorities. And he read the Bible. Although his folk group had sung several spirituals and gospel tunes, Stookey had never opened a Bible before. But now he read through the entire New Testament and parts of the Old. He had a hard time with some of it: it was slow and often mysterious. But something real happened in Paul's life then, and today he is living as a disciple of Jesus Christ. (Fred Hartley, 100% BEYOND MEDIOCRITY, (Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1983).) His cap is over the wall.

Isn't it time for some of us to toss our cap over the wall?

It's like the a certain high jumper put it, referring to a world record he set in his sport. He said he threw his heart over the bar and the rest of him followed.

Perhaps you and I need to throw our hearts over the altar, so that we may follow.

It is exciting to read about the early days of Jesus' ministry.

He had his critics, of course.

But he never let them detract him from his call.

His life is a challenge to our lives.

It is time to toss our cap over the wall.

=====================================

Available to our readers:

FREE BIBLE WITH FOOTNOTES

Bibles for America ™(BfA) is a nonprofit organization that distributes free Recovery Version Bibles as well as Christian literature
http://www.biblesforamerica.org/index.html

====================================

Our ministry pages http://folsom.sk.ca/gohere.html

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>

TOSS YOUR CAP OVER THE WALL

There is a part of almost everyone that is thrilled when someone attempts the heroic. The pioneer, the successful entrepreneur, the victorious athlete, all speak to us about the ability of the human spirit to achieve monumental accomplishments when properly motivated. Vicariously, we share in their achievements and find hope for our own lives in their successes.

President John F. Kennedy's hero was his grandfather, and he loved to hear stories about his grandfather's boyhood in Ireland. One of these stories concerned how Grandfather Fitzgerald used to walk home from school with a group of youngsters each day. Sometimes these boys would challenge each other to climb over the stone walls along the lanes of the countryside. Now young Fitzgerald and the other boys were sometimes hesitant to dare the hazardous climbs, so they devised a way to motivate themselves to take the risk involved: they would toss their caps over the wall. You see, they knew that they dare not go home without their caps, so then they had to climb over the walls to get them.

There are times when all of us long to toss our hats over the wall. There are times when we hunger in our own way for the heroic--whether we want to change jobs, start our own business, go back to school, or whatever. There come those times in life when we feel the need to make a change.

I know of one young man in particular who decided to make such a change. He was thirty years old at the time, and he owned a successful small business which had been left to him by his father. He was secure; he was liked and respected by his friends and neighbors; and he was meeting his responsibilities. But he knew that this was not where he belonged. He felt called to a ministry--a ministry of teaching and preaching and healing. And thus, he threw his cap over the wall.

At first he met with spectacular success, and his reputation spread with amazing speed. But as his popularity increased, so did the number of his critics, especially in his hometown. Some of his closest friends tried to dissuade him from his insanity, and his family was also concerned for him. But he persevered in his new calling for three years, only to die an untimely death. As he hung on a tree between two thieves--feeling forsaken by both God and man--no one would have judged his life to be a success. But it was. For all of this took place around Nazareth almost 2000 years ago.

Mark 3:20-35 MKJV

(20) And again a crowd came together, so that they could not even eat bread.

(21) And hearing, those with Him went out to take hold of Him; for they said, He is insane.

(22) And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.

(23) And He called them and said to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

(24) And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

(25) And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

(26) And if Satan rises up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.

(27) No one can enter into a strong one's house and plunder his goods, except he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

(28) Truly I say to you, All sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and blasphemies with which they shall blaspheme.

(29) But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never shall have forgiveness, but is liable to eternal condemnation.

(30) Because they said, He has an unclean spirit.

(31) Then His brothers and His mother came. And standing outside, they sent to Him, calling Him.

(32) And the crowd sat about Him, and they said to Him, Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking for You.

(33) And He answered them, saying, Who is My mother, or My brothers?

(34) And He looked around on those who sat about Him, and said, Behold My mother and My brothers!

(35) For whoever does the will of God, the same is My brother and My sister and My mother.

Let us toss our cap over the wall. The world thrilled as Colonel Charles Lindbergh flew his little sprucewood plane solo across the Atlantic. As he was leaving the last stretches of land in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, he kept looking down on the forests and lakes and valleys and thinking that if an emergency arose he would land in that little clearing beside the river, or he would clear that little clump of trees and land in that lake. But soon there were no more clearings, no more clumps of trees--only ocean. His cap was over the wall.

James Freeman tells of touring Salt Lake City and visiting with his Mormon guide. The young man told him that his grandmother had come to Salt Lake City in the early days when the Mormons had first come to Utah. Apparently she had traveled all the way from Omaha on foot, pushing a handcart. Can you imagine that? Across deserts and mountains she pushed a handcart. But the people of her faith were waiting at the end of her journey. Her cap was over the wall.

Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat and a Christian back in 1944 who accepted an invitation from President Roosevelt to go to Hungary and help fight against Hitler's plan to destroy Jews. Time and again, Wallenberg risked his life, using his position as a neutral diplomat, to save men, women and children from the gas chambers. He climbed on top of deportation trains, handing out Swedish identity papers, and then insisted that those people be allowed to detrain. He personally established international houses where 10,000 Jews were sheltered. He used his own funds to provide for the poor and needy. It is said that Raoul Wallenberg almost single-handedly saved the lives of more than 25,000 Jews. . . all because he accepted an invitation to throw his cap over the wall.

Doesn't it make your blood run faster, to know that there are people who have charted a heroic course for their lives and seen it through?

Of course, no one has ever accomplished anything of note without critics. Winston Churchill, truly a man of heroic stature, was one of the most criticized politicians who ever lived. But he knew how to handle his detractors. Perhaps the most famous of Churchill's exchanges was one he had at a state dinner with Nancy Astor, whose own reputation for acid wit and instant repartee was considerable. During this dinner Lady Astor was compelled to listen to Churchill expound views on a great number of subjects, all of them at variance with her own strongly held views. Finally, no longer able to hold her tongue, she spat, "Winston, if you were my husband, I would flavor your coffee with poison." To which Churchill immediately replied, "Madam, if I were your husband, I should drink it." (Leon A. Harris, THE FINE ART OF POLITICAL WIT, (E.P. Dutton.))

Sometimes, as in Jesus' case, it is those closest to us who have the hardest time coming to grips with our dreams and aspirations. Husbands and wives especially have problems because of this sometimes. I like the story about the first grade teacher who was taking her pupils on a field trip to the local zoo. Each child was given a turn at guessing the names of the various animals. The camel, lion, giraffe, bear, and the elephant all were named correctly.

Then it got to be a little boy's turn. The teacher pointed to a deer and asked him if he knew what it was.

He hesitated for a long time, looking unsure of himself. So the teacher tried to prompt him by telling him to think of what his mother called his father at home.

The boy brightened up immediately: "So that's what a baboon looks like!"

I won't ask you if your spouse has ever called you a baboon. But I can assure you that anyone who seeks to make a dramatic change in their life is going to encounter criticism and tension. One author has called this the "Salk Theory."

Jonas Salk, that great doctor of medicine who pioneered polio research and discovered the Polio Vaccine, had a legion of critics he dealt with over the years. At one point, he made an interesting observation about the nature of criticism, which seems to hold true for any person who is successfully innovative.

"First," he said, "people will tell you that you are wrong. Then they will tell you that you are right, but what you're doing really isn't important. Finally, they will admit that you are right and that what you are doing is very important; but after all, they knew it all the time." (Michael and Donna Nason, ROBERT SCHULLER: HIS STORY, (New York: Jove Books, 1983). )

The best way to answer your critics, though, is to do as the builder of the Panama Canal did. He had to endure carping criticisms from countless busybodies back home who predicted that he would never complete his great task. But the resolute builder pressed steadily forward in his work and said nothing. One of his subordinates, irritated by the flak they were receiving, asked the great engineer if he was ever going to answer his critics. "In time," he said. "When the canal is finished."

There comes a time when we toss our caps over the wall in spite of everything the critics have to say. Nothing is ever accomplished by people who value comfort and safety and acceptance above all else. There comes a time for what is often called a leap of faith.

Of course the greatest adventure that one can start out on--the most spectacular, and often the most courageous change that can be made in a life--is that of becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. Now it is unfortunate that, for the most part, that statement will fall on deaf ears. All too often we confuse discipleship with membership in the church. Or we confuse discipleship for respectability. But there is certainly no particular risk involved to be respectable or to belong to a church. But, to become a disciple, to move from a nominal belief to radical truth, to move from a nodding acquaintance with God to a complete commitment of one's life, that is more of a challenge for the human creature than walking on the moon.

I was reading recently about Noel Paul Stookey's conversion to Jesus Christ. Some of you might know of him by the beautiful wedding song that he wrote. Others of you might know him as the second member of Peter, Paul and Mary. At one point in his life, Stookey was going through a time of searching and crisis. He was disturbed by the hypocrisy in his life. And he turned to an old Greenwich Village friend named Bob Dylan for advice.

Two things that Dylan said stood out in Stookey's mind: go for a long walk in the country, and read the Bible. Paul took the advice. He walked in the country, and it helped him sort out his priorities. And he read the Bible. Although his folk group had sung several spirituals and gospel tunes, Stookey had never opened a Bible before. But now he read through the entire New Testament and parts of the Old. He had a hard time with some of it: it was slow and often mysterious. But something real happened in Paul's life then, and today he is living as a disciple of Jesus Christ. (Fred Hartley, 100% BEYOND MEDIOCRITY, (Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1983).) His cap is over the wall.

Isn't it time for some of us to toss our cap over the wall?

It's like the a certain high jumper put it, referring to a world record he set in his sport. He said he threw his heart over the bar and the rest of him followed.

Perhaps you and I need to throw our hearts over the altar, so that we may follow.

It is exciting to read about the early days of Jesus' ministry.

He had his critics, of course.

But he never let them detract him from his call.

His life is a challenge to our lives.

It is time to toss our cap over the wall.

=====================================

Available to our readers:

FREE BIBLE WITH FOOTNOTES

Bibles for America ™(BfA) is a nonprofit organization that distributes free Recovery Version Bibles as well as Christian literature
http://www.biblesforamerica.org/index.html

====================================

Our ministry pages http://folsom.sk.ca/gohere.html

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.346 / Virus Database: 194 - Release Date: 4/10/02