Stumble part 5
When you stumble, that at least means you were walking. You were doing something. Trying something. And that, friends, is a big part of what grace is all about. Look at 2 Peter 3:18, "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." Growing in grace. Grace to grow. Once you think you have everything figured out, that's when you get stuck. That's when you stop growing. And, look, according to 1 John 2:20, "...ye have an unction from the holy One, and ye know all tihngs." We know the ultimate truth of the universe: That God is love and He loves you. That the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. We know what we need to know. The never ending life-long part of the journey is coming into the fullness of that truth. Testing the height and depth and length and breadth of that love. Experiencing that love by giving it away. Letting God love us and loving Him back by loving each other. That's what this life is for. That's what this life is all about. And the only way to truly fail... is to fail to keep trying. The only way to truly stumble is to operate outside of love. If you make a mistake out of love, it's not really a mistake. It's a learning moment. It's, "Ok. That didn't work. Let me try something else." According to popular history, it took Thomas Edison 1000 tries before he created the lightbulb. And when asked how it felt to fail 1000 times he said, "I didn't fail 1000 times. The lightbulb was an invention with 1000 steps." It's all about how we look at things. If we always get down on ourselves or beat ourselves up... we'll eventually stop trying to do anything at all. We'll stop living. And there's a big difference between just being alive and actually living. To live is to love and to love is to live. If you stop loving people just because they don't accept it (or for any other reason, really) then you're robbing yourself of the life you've been given. Robbing yourself of the gift of God. Look. We are connected to the unlimited source of love. The God who is love lives inside us. That means we can use that love lavishly. We don't have to worry about running out of it, or not having it because we've given it away. We can live abundantly. We can live out of our abundance. We can stumble... learn from it... and keep moving forward. We can trust God to keep us from falling. We can receive and release His love. Breathe it in and breathe it out. Experience it with every breath we take and every move we make. We can live a life free from fear and condemnation. We can walk by faith and not by sight. If you're on that straight and narrow road that leads to life you're on the right track. It may have some twists and turns but you will--for sure--get to where God wants you to go. Remember Jonah and the whale? God can be pretty persuasive. And I'm not saying He forces His will upon us. I believe we have a measure of free will. I'm simply saying He knows what's best for us and He really REALLY wants it for us. So if we're willing to show up, He will do the rest. It is the power of God working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. HE will bring it to pass. HE will keep us from stumbling and falling. All we have to do is take it step by step!