Cannon Guy

Being a guy, I can almost guarantee that I know what he was thinking. That’s because guys are fairly predictable. Regardless of culture, race, religion, or creed guys are guys and we all think alike. And I’m pretty certain I know what he was thinking. He was thinking, “Enough playing around, I’m going for the record! Set this puppy on high and let her rip!” That’s what he was thinking, all right! His name is Ermes Zamperla (I swear this is true) and he is a human cannonball! That’s right, Ermes is a rare man indeed. He earns his keep by allowing himself to be launched out of a tube, over the cheers of an awestruck crowd, and into the waiting softness of an inflatable landing pad…usually! But years of flying only 150 feet or so can wear a guy down and really make him want to soar. So it was that on a recent afternoon in sunny Florida, that Zamperla the Incorrigible thought, “Enough is enough, man”! He set his trusty cannon on “Unreasonably High” and climbed in. Have you ever heard the phrase, “Fail to Plan…Plan to Fail”? Well, our hero neglected to tell his Landing Pad Placement Officer about his intentions. After a brief countdown and an even briefer “BOOM” an amazingly fast flying Ermes emerged from the tube. At first the euphoria of reaching near terminal velocity was easily heard by onlookers in his howls of delight which were almost instantly replaced by shrieks of terror as he watched his landing pad disappear behind the horizon. Some 25 feet later, Ermes Zamperla “landed”, rolled head over heels, and was finally stopped by a fiberglass fence.

The word “sin” in the Bible literally means “to miss the mark”. When you aim at providing for your family but allow the pursuit of success to lead to neglect, you’ve missed the mark. When you aim at being the best but allow yourself to believe that that somehow makes you a better person than everyone else, you’ve missed the mark. When you aim at heaven but begin to think you can earn your way in by being a good person, you’ve missed the mark.

Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Where are you aiming for?