SortingBeans

At the park, watching my youngest (4) balancing on the daring heights of the great Parking Bumper.

I think it is pretty amazing that she was able to balance herself for the amount of time she did; I was pretty stoked. She continued to walk back and forth, back and forth, of our latter time at the park until it was time to leave. When she could no longer keep her balance I remember her saying, “If I fall, I can just put my foot down and then get back up again.”

What is interesting is that we rarely view our walk with Christ this way. We ought to, but I don’t. When I fall, I feel guilty, sad, unworthy, undeserving, and distant from God. If I were consistent my faith, I would understand that this sort of thing may happen from time-to-time and I must continue to trust in Christ for my forgiveness, redemption, and assisted repentance (Lord knows I don’t want to repent by nature).

But I’m a hypocrite.

And so are you—probably—to a degree, because we are not pragmatically consistent with our faith. Does this mean you or I are going to hell? No. It means we need more and more refinement in trusting God in life and circumstance—even when we fall.

Like my daughter, when you fall you can “just put [your] foot down and then get back up again.” You can put your foot down on the firm foundation of Christ, trusting in His work, not yours (Eph. 2:19-21; 1 Cor. 3:11-13). Nevertheless, we must live a life of repentance (2 Tim. 2:19; 2 Cor. 7:9-11).

So, how are you? Really?

For me, it is a continual struggle between self shame and Christ’s forgiveness. It is obvious that I want to be my own savior, because of the shame I sometimes heap on myself. It is not long, though, before the Lord breaks through my thick head and calls me to repentance and trusting in Him.

How is your faith walk going? Are you beating yourself up over your failures? Or are you trusting in Christ’s work in spite of yourself—yet pursuing holiness?

C’mon. Spill the beans.

—Jonathan J.