A Highwire Act

Have you heard of Charles Blondin? I’ve written about him before, but this time I wanted to convey his story of faith. Charles Blondin was a famous French tightrope walker. I feel like his life was a wonderful illustration of what true faith is – and the crowd’s response to his high wire act serves as a valuable life lesson as well.

One famous quote stated, "Blondin's utmost fame came on September 14, 1860, when he became the first person to cross a tightrope stretched 11,000 feet (over a quarter of a mile!) across the massive Niagara Falls. People from all over the world, Canada, and the United States hoarded to see him defy death."

He walked across, 160 feet above the Falls, many, many times... each time with a different daring feat. The newspaper's report stated, "He crossed over once in a sack, a couple of times on stilts, once on a bicycle, even in the dark, and blindfolded, among other precarious things. It is also documented that he even carried a stove and cooked omelets on one daring crossing." Unbelievable sights! You can imagine the “ooohhs” and “aaahhhs” from the large crowds gathered to watch him – how exciting it was to see him pushing wheelbarrows filled with potatoes and other extreme tasks.

Then one day, according to witnessed accounts noted in the paper, "He unexpectedly asked for the participation of a volunteer."  He suddenly stopped and addressed his audience: "Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?"

The crowd unreservedly yelled, "Yes! You are the greatest tightrope walker in the world! We believe!"

"Okay," inquired Blondin, "Who wants to get into the wheelbarrow?"

As far as the Blondin story goes, NO ONE did at the time! (Not that I blame them).

This unique story illustrates a real life picture of what faith actually is. The crowd watched these daring feats. They said they believed. But... their actions proved they truly did not believe.

You probably know where I am going --- Let’s evaluate our own Christianity.  It is one thing for us to say we believe in God, but it is another thing to actually LIVE it. To demonstrate it consistently. To put God first. (How easy it is to SAY we put God first in our lives! But DO we?)  It's true faith when we believe God, putting our faith in Christ Jesus…Let’s work harder to ensure our ACTIONS and our SPEECH correspond.

Follow Up Story: In August of 1859, Blondin's manager, Harry Colcord, DID ride on Blondin's back across the Falls.

Look UP my friends!