In my opinion, one of the best pieces of writing is the first chapter of Ray Comfort's "Hell's Best Kept Secret". The setting is on board an airplane. One man is instructed to put on a parachute to "improve his flight". The analogy is to our embracing Jesus, and He will certainly give us joy, peace, and fulfillment ....improving our life. The analogy continues, showing how the weight of the parachute is a burden, and it is rather uncomfortable. But other passengers smirk at him as he is the only one wearing a parachute. The man then unstraps the parachute, and throws it to the floor ...concluding he was told a lie. A second man then is instructed to put on the parachute, because at any moment he will be jumping out of the plane at 25,000 feet. This second man does not mind the weight on his shoulders, nor that it is a bit uncomfortable. And when they laugh at him, we can all imagine that they won't be laughing long, as they too will be scrambling for parachutes if they suddenly realize the plane is going to crash.

Ray sums it up, "During some unexpected turbulence, the stewardess accidentally drops a cup of hot coffee onto the lap of our second passenger.  What is his reaction?  Does he cry out in pain, then rip the parachute off his back in anger?  No!  ...he doesn't even relate the incident to his parachute ...it only makes him cling more tightly to the hope of his salvation and even look forward to the jump!"  (Some call it a leap of faith.)