Indiana Jones was played by Harrison Ford. 

There’s a scene in one of the movies where he had to get across a huge gorge, but couldn’t jump that far. His map indicated that he could walk across, but he couldn’t see a bridge. He was in a hurry because people were chasing him and he needed to help his friend.

He took “a leap of faith” (his words), and discovered that his weight was supported. He didn’t fall. There was a bridge after all. It was an optical illusion which made it look invisible. But it was there and he walked safely across. 

When he got to the other side he took some sand and threw it back over the bridge so that he could see it more clearly when he needed it again on his return trip.

Here’s why I like this scene. 

We often think we need to take a huge leap of faith—maybe for something like the resurrection of Christ. But when we study the details and the reliability of the Gospel stories, we discover that the “leap” is often not as big as we think. Further, when we use the minds God gave us, it’s like we are throwing sand over the bridge which helps other people trust the path as well.

I’ll be spending some devotionals talking about the reliability of the resurrection story. Yes, it’s a miracle. And if you don’t believe in the possibility of miracles, there’s not much anyone can say that will change your mind. 

But if you believe that God created the world—including the stars, ecosystems and human life itself—it shouldn’t be hard to imagine that he can bring a man back from the grave. 

When asked about the most important commandment, Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). 

With all your MIND.

Use your mind as an act of fortified faithfulness to God.

Don’t settle for a faith of warm-feelings-only. That might give you the cozies from time to time, but it won’t help you very much when our increasingly hostile world comes for you and for the souls of those you care about.

Use your mind as an act of fortified faithfulness to God.

Let’s put some sand on the bridge and walk with confidence.

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Notes:

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.