Cliff Loesch August 19, 2007 Who's Holding the Rope? A week ago Wednesday, my brother-in-law, Dana Miller, and I took our sons to go rock climbing in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.  Rock climbing was something Parker really wanted to do for his 18th birthday, and after a lot of phone calls and family conferences we were finally able to schedule a time during our last full day in Colorado.  We found our guide and he had four ropes set up at four different skill levels.  I was planning to simply watch and take pictures, but soon I found myself in a harness learning how to belay--that is hold the safety rope for a climber.  Since we were a small group, our guide had invited some others to join us--and there were a handful of kids from a youth group from a nearby town.  There were plenty of chances for all the kids to climb--and plenty for everyone to do I discovered.  And I enjoyed the belaying.  It's an important job.  There was once that I was belaying for Parker and about two-thirds of the way up he lost his grip and fell off the cliff.  But I had him.  He just dangled there a few seconds until he could find some foot and handholds again.  But I did yell up to him, "Parker, I just saved your life.  You owe me." It wasn't very much later that our guide started telling me that I ought to climb.  He had an answer for all my protests.  And he kept mentioning that the rope on the right is a route that's easier than the others.  It's angled just a little, and has lots of handholds.  I should try it, he said.  "Even my grandma can climb that one," he said, "and she uses a walker."  It's not that I didn't want to give it a try.  I did want to.  I think cliffs are interesting.  And rock climbing looks like fun.  But I tried one of those portable climbing walls one time a few years ago at the Sedgwick County Fair.  I got almost to the top and then the muscles in my forearms just stopped working.  They gave out.  Ceased to function.  But it was kind of fun, anyway.  It was a challenge.  And here was a chance to try to climb a real cliff.  Not just a climbing wall.  How often does a chance like that come along?  So up I went.  About halfway up, our guide, who was holding the rope for me started preaching to me.  It had a lot to do with holding that rope.  He said, "Now you can go home and tell your congregation that no matter what happens there's always someone there watching them and holding the rope-ready to catch them if they fall."  And he had a lot more great observations.  I wish I could remember everything he said.  But I was pretty focused on trying to get up that cliff. I did make it all the way up that day.  And I have to say that, afterward, it really fills you with a sense of accomplishment.  It was a good feeling.  A strong feeling.  I went away with a sense of success.  And I have to say that the sport of rock climbing does relate to real, everyday life in a lot of ways.  When you are on the wall, in some ways you are on your own.  You have to climb.  No one is pulling you up the cliff.  You have to use your feet, your hands, your muscles to climb, and your brains to figure out how to get up the wall. But that's not the whole story.  What I discovered was that I had lots of help from people down below-mostly from our guide.  But Dana and others gave advice and encouragement as well.  When you are climbing, your face is inches from the cliff and as you look up and down searching for the best route to climb and as you try to find places that might work for handholds or footholds-your perspective is limited.  People on the ground really do have a more comprehensive view of the situation.  They really can see things you cannot.  And they can see which route might be better to take.  Their encouragement and advice can be extremely helpful. There is more than one way to get up a wall.  And some routes work better than others.  I should also say that when I use the terms "handholds" and "footholds" I'm not talking about big indentations into the rock or great big ledges of rock that are big enough to accommodate your size elevens.  No.  When you first look at the cliff you can't see anything at all that would seem to qualify as a handhold.  There doesn't appear to be anywhere to put your feet.  I'm simply talking about the irregular surface of the rock itself.  And as you examine it you begin to see that, "Well, I guess I could try to hang onto this little thing, and put my foot there on that little bulge and we'll see if that works." But the advice from people on the ground is, as I said earlier, more than helpful.  I mean I was standing there looking at the cliff and it wasn't even clear to me how to get started-until I was told, "Put your right foot there, and then reach up and grab that."  And all the way up, I had help.  Encouragement to keep going.  And helpful advice on where to grab hold, and which direction would best help me reach my goal.  Getting to the top was a personal achievement--but I wonder if I would have been able to do it without the help I received from others. And then there was the rope.  Somehow, knowing that safety rope was in place was empowering.  I mean, the last thing I wanted to do was to fall.  But with the rope, the fear of falling is removed (or at least greatly diminished).  A fall would not be tragic.  So I could push myself beyond what I thought I was capable of.  I could try something new.  I could stretch my limits.  With no fear.  I mean, what's to stop you from trying-when there's someone there to catch you if you fall?  Why not venture out a little more?  Why not step out on faith-if we know that God is holding the rope.  And that a fall isn't as tragic as we might imagine.  God is there to hold onto us and help us grab hold of life again. You may be wondering what the scriptural text for my message happens to be today.  I've gone about it differently than usual today.  Instead of starting with a text and seeing what springs forth from the text, this week I began with a wonderful illustration that's in search of a supporting text.  But truthfully, a great many parts of the Bible relate to this rock climbing illustration--every passage that talks about encouraging and supporting one another, for instance.  We can be for one another those who give encouraging words from below to keep going.  We can be those who help others see things they cannot see themselves because they are too close to the situation.  We can see the handholds, the footholds, the routes to avoid on the way up.  The passages in the Bible that call us to this role of encouragement and support are many. And every passage that encourages us to make the most of our lives, to reach for higher heights, to grow and to transform--all of those passages relate to this illustration.  And we can find many of these. And every passage that calls us to put our trust in God is related to this rock climbing illustration.  I think when you're climbing, you are not always aware of the rope.  Likewise, as we go through life there are times when we are most conscious of our own efforts but not so much aware of the presence of God.  If you recall the story of Job (in the Old Testament)--Job lost everything: his family, his wealth, and also his health.  And he went through a period of time where he was sort of left to wonder if God was really there.  In the end, he discovered that God was there-that God had been there all the time.  God saw him through his great calamities.  And God will hold the rope in our lives, too-and will help us through the catastrophes that we face. God is there when we are aware of his presence.  God is there even when we are not aware.  And with God holding the rope and with others giving encouragement and help, let us move forward and upward full of faith, confidence, and hope.