And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
"And the Word was made flesh..." - WOW! Imagine that! God thought so much of us that he came to earth in human form and to show us that he loves us, then went to the cross and died for us! We must be pretty special for him to do that!
The fact that Christ lived among us, as one of us, should tell you that he understands when we pray! He "gets it" - when our hearts are breaking, when our joy is overflowing - he's been here, he knows!
He also knows what we are capable of, otherwise he would not have commanded that we act accordingly. We may be wretched sinners but can still strive to be the perfect saints! We aren't supposed to "give up" - we keep on trying! If we gave up every time we fell while learning to walk, we'd be lumps still sitting on the floor of our mother's kitchen. We eventually were able to maintain our balance and put a series of steps together. But as children, we still fell - how many of you escaped without the super large bandaid across one or both knees? I know I didn't! And even now, at the age of 54, I still trip over things that aren't there and sometimes face-plant into the floor or go sailing across the kitchen at work, I get up and look around to see if anyone is watching (or laughing), dust myself off and continue on as though nothing happened! The cuts heal and the bruises fade, but I am wiser and less careless because of it!
Leading a Christian life is learning to walk! It's learning to walk in the "Word". It's not a coat we take out and put on to wear to church on Sunday mornings. It is our way of life. In every aspect of every breath we take, we emulate Jesus' life upon the earth. And there is always room for improvement! There is always the risk of falling or stumbling. We will make mistakes, we will get hurt, we will hurt others. Just as our parents would say "this is gonna hurt me more than it hurts you", we will respond to certain situations in a manner that may present as being "cold" or "callous" because our faith in God tells us to "fear not". Some people don't want to hear what God has to say on certain matters, they just want someone to agree with their point of view. They want justification for their actions, and sometimes there just isn't any.
Whether we stumble over a pebble, or go rolling down a steep embankment and end up in a ditch, we still have the power to pull ourselves up and continue to walk in the Word. We have Christ's assurance that he will neither leave, nor forsake us. It may be a long, painful journey at times, but we are guaranteed a successful ending to the journey. I will be bruised and bandaged when I reach the gates of heaven and see my Savior's face! He will comfort me and reward me and I in turn will worship him ~ not from "afar" - but right there at his nail scared feet! Dare to walk!!!
