Rex, our 1 year old son, is walking. Well…sort of. He’s taking lots of steps. But he’s taking lots of falls, too. In fact, at least half of every attempt at walking ends up with him falling to the ground. Does that mean that I scold him and shame him for even trying to take a step? Constantly tell him he should’ve tried harder? Should’ve asked God for more help? That now he may never be able to walk?
We’d like to think that change happens overnight. But in reality, it rarely does. I mean, we reward the overnight change. We give those people stage time. We herald their stories on videos and movies. We stand shocked when those folks share their stories with us. We want to capture them on video so that the rest of our church can see them. We venerate the “big” salvation experiences.
Oftentimes, change is much slower than we’d like.
More often than not, it’s, “I got saved 2 years ago, and I’m still struggling.” or “I got saved 6 months ago, and still have to fight against sin on a weekly…daily…hourly…basis.” or “I’ve been saved since I was 16, and I’ve been fighting against sin, but I still mess up…but with the power of Christ, I soldier on.”
I’ve written about Josh Hamilton before, HERE. He’s got one of “those stories.” However, even after having gone public with his fight against drugs and alcohol, after having been saved, after having been restored to his family, he messed up. But you know what he did after he messed up? He told his wife and his family. He sought their forgiveness. And they granted it.
Change, at one level, happens in an instant. We are saved, from one specific point in history, forever into eternity. But from another, very real aspect, we’re still in the process of being saved. Let’s be honest about this.
You’re not perfect. Neither am I. Lets take off the mask and quit acting like something we’re not.
I cheer for Rex every time I see him take a step. Because that’s one step closer to walking.
Do you need encouragement? I’ll clap for you.
How can you celebrate and encourage someone today who’s taken a step towards Christ?
