Christian Living

---

I was watching Batman Begins the other night when I heard a question being posed to a very young Bruce Wayne. “Why do we fall?”
The answer of course is to “Get back up.” If we look at it in the confines of our Christian life we may find some answers that will help us all when we fall.
If you have never had a baby about walking age in your house you will miss out on one of the greatest lessons we learn about falling down. It’s a fact of life. I watched my son crawl over to the loveseat, pull himself up and smile at the great accomplishment only to fall back to the floor where he came from. He could have got mad and thrown a fit but he determined in his heart that he would get back up, no matter what. That’s the same kind of attitude that we need to have today. Do you throw a fit when you fall or do you spring right back up?
It becomes part of the growing process. The more we fall, the faster we tend to grow and to learn the secret of what keeps us from hitting the ground. We begin to see and learn about the snares that keep tripping us up and try our best to stay away from them. My sister, when she was little used to avoid me like the plague. I would go out of my way to trip her every chance I got so she learned to avoid me so she wouldn’t fall at my hands.
In our Christian lives, we sometimes fall because we allow ourselves to fall into temptation. James 1:14 says, But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Have you ever been on a diet? As long as you are walking on the straight and narrow you are doing great, the weight is coming off and you are finally feeling good about yourself. All it takes for you to fall off the wagon is for someone to offer something that blows it for you. “Hey, want a cookie?” “We’re going for pizza, what to come?”
It’s easy to get drawn away from God when our friends ask us to do things that we know God wouldn’t approve of. We try to rationalize it by telling ourselves that “I don’t have to do what they do, I’ll just watch.” Next thing you know, peer pressure kicks in and suddenly, you find that you have fallen on the floor.
I think sometimes that we put ourselves in situations unknowingly that will take us down a notch or two. Many a Christian has fallen because they were put on a pedestal thinking that they were better than anyone else. They knew the Bible and the entire Church lingo but when push came to shove they allowed themselves to fall into sin and that sin was revealed to all. When we need to be humbled, God doesn’t have to do anything. Our pride will cause us to fall.
There are times, that in order for God to use us, we have to go through the fire. Pure gold isn’t pure until it’s put through the fire and all the impurities have burned away. This is not a pleasant time for anyone. It’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when we sit in a pot burning off the things that are not pleasing to God.
It is usually during this time that God uses us to be his greatest witness. Our lives are on display for all to see. Somebody, some where is always watching what we do. Even if it’s only God above, someone has a pair of eyes on you. As a Christian, people tend to watch us a bit closer.
Sure they can provide a lot of problems for us but they and others watch us to see how we handle the circumstances that life throws our way. This will be our greatest witness or our greatest defeat.
Jesus told us that we will be known by our fruits. Do you bare good fruit or bad? When going through trials and tribulation what is it in your life that people see? Do you carry yourself as someone better than those around you? Do you let people see God working in your life?
So, why do we fall…? To bring glory and honor to God. Where ever you are in life right now Jesus is still by your side. You might be hanging by a thread with the flames of hell nipping at your feet. You can still get up. If you are going through the devastating times right now for whatever reason, God hasn’t forgotten about you. Even though you may not realize it, He IS walking you through.
If you try to stand back up in your own strength you’ll just hit the floor. Stand up with God’s strength. But they (that) delight in doing everything the Lord wants; day and night they think about his law. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit every season without fail. Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper (Psalm 1:2-3).
Hang in there and let God lead you through. In the end, when you look back at where you have been, you will see that it was Christ who carried you through.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE