Tellicherry, in the north of Kerala state, my birthplace, is known as the birthplace of the Indian circus, besides being cashew nut and pepper country. I fascinatedly watched circus performances countless times as a child, and knew many circus artists whose families lived around the house I grew up in. The most enchanting, and at the same time the most dangerous, act in a circus is the trapeze, performed without a net beneath. I am sure most of you have watched a circus at some time or other in your lives, if not in person then on television or other media; if not, you may find something on YouTube.
The 'flyers' swing from a platform set at a great height, and can perform spectacular doubles, triples, and even quadruples in the air. They are caught by the hands of the 'catchers,' who swing upside down in the middle of the arena. The catchers have to be in the right place at the right time, and catch the flyer with the greatest precision; a split-second error can end in fatal disaster.
Much of our lives involves flying — I do not mean in an aeroplane. It may feel wonderful to keep flying, enjoying ever newer possibilities that this world offers us, from time to time. But imagine, if Jesus were not watching over us, ready to 'catch' us in the nick of time as we begin to fall or backslide, what would become of our lives? We would fall back into the waiting hands of Satan, and set out on a journey of ever greater sin. We must have the kind of trust in our invisible, yet omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient 'Catcher,' Jesus Christ, that cheerful trapeze artists have in their catchers — or more, since life is far more complicated than any trapeze act.
Do you have such trust in Him?