Jump Start # 2687

Proverbs 24:16 “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of calamity.”

I used this passage in a funeral recently. It fit so well. The one who died had a heart of gold. Kind. Helpful. Sweet smile. But, he stumbled and he stumbled often. Unlike an apostate who falls away and gives up, this man kept coming back. It seemed that each time he came back, he came back stronger and better. And, finally, life ran out of him. He died much too young, likely from some of the choices when he was stumbling. But he kept rising again.

This verse brings some wonderful thoughts for us to see:

First, God is patient with us. That is such a wonderful, wonderful blessing and characteristic of God. Sometimes we are not very patient. And our impatience is demonstrated with having a short fuse and a few choice words that shouldn’t be said. Not God. He’s patient. Seven times the one in the passage fell. But he kept getting up. This mirrors the Lord’s teaching about forgiveness. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus talked about one who sins against you seven times a day and returns seven times saying, “I repent.” He fell and he kept rising.

Second, we can focus on the falling or on the rising back up. Why did he fall? Why wasn’t he careful? Why did he continue to fall? On and on our questions rise. And, for some, we just can’t move past the fact that he fell seven times. Roger Maris, in 1961, broke Babe Ruth’s all time record of most homeruns in a season. The Babe hit 60 homeruns in 1927. For 34 years that record remained untouchable. There was one difference in 1961 when Maris hit 61 homers. The season was longer in 1961. Maris played more games in a season than Babe Ruth did. Had Ruth played the same number of games, he might have hit more than 60. So, because of that, the record books always put an asterisk by Maris’ name. He hit more homeruns, but he played more games.

Sometimes we put an asterisk by people’s names in our minds. “Oh, that’s the guy that cheated on his wife years ago,” we say. Never forgetting what he did. “She’s the one who got fired from her job.” That asterisk appears. The teen who was arrested, decades later will be known for that because we keep an asterisk there. God doesn’t keep an asterisk by your name! He doesn’t say, “that’s the one that always gossips.” Or, “He’s the one that has trouble with drinking.” No, forgiveness does not come with an asterisk.

We can concentrate upon the falling or the rising up again.

Third, sometimes we don’t allow a person to rise up again. We give up on them, even though they haven’t given up. They are trying. They are struggling. They want to rise up, but our words, indifference to them and turning our backs on them holds them down. They’d like to rise, but we won’t offer them a hand. We won’t pull them up. And, the reason is, we think that they will just fall again. One and done tends to be our thinking. Give a guy one chance, and when he’s messed that up, we are done with him. Sure glad God’s not that way. We tend to stand outside the house with the prodigal’s older brother more than we find ourselves running down the path to huge the prodigal. It’s easier to be judgmental than it is to forgive.

Fourth, there was something in this person who fell seven times to rise up again. He knew things could be better. He knew that falling down wasn’t the place he was supposed to be. He was supposed to be standing up. He knew. Likely, he had been taught. And, when people are falling and making bad choices, we can forget that there are deep lessons within them that will help them. Often, the teaching one does may seem to not be received and even wasted, but things tend to be remembered and come to the surface, especially when one is falling apart. The man in our passage never gave up. He kept rising.

Finally, some of us have not fallen seven times. Be thankful for that. Yet, don’t view yourself better than the guy who has fallen seven times. We are all in this together and some are stronger than others. We need each other and we all need the grace of Jesus. Some carry battle scars from intense spiritual wars. They have fought for the truth. They have battled those who want to tear down the standard of God. Others, have scars from battles with temptation. The pull was strong, but they continued to rise to the top. But, others of us carry few scars. We have fought against false teachers. We haven’t battled to keep things true. Our journey has been pleasant. Help those old warriors of truth. Be an encouragement to all.

He falls…but he gets back up. Sounds like a Rocky movie. Better yet, sounds like someone who truly loves the Lord and really wants to go to Heaven. He may be down, but he’s not out. Give him a chance, and he’ll struggle back to his feet and go another round.

God bless such hearts that want to do right.

Roger

Jump Start # 2686

Psalms 37:23 “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way.”

There are many people that come into our lives. We intersect with people all the time. Some of those connections are brief, superficial and not much comes from them. A co-worker, a teacher, a coach, a neighbor, even someone down at church. We know their names but not much more. We wave when we see them. But we don’t know much about them. They move out of our lives just about as fast as they moved in. We may wonder years later what ever happened to those people.

But then there are those special people who we never forget. They were true friends. They helped us. They were there for us. A bond grew and even though we may move away, that bond remained strong. This is especially true among fellow believers. We’ve worshipped together. We’ve gone to the weddings of our children with each other. We’ve sat through funerals together. We have eaten in each other’s homes. The feelings run deep and strong.

In our passage today, the KJV uses the expression, “the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” I like that. There is a path, a path chosen by God. A path where He leads us. A path that takes us to Him. It is a path of righteousness. Those steps are designed by the Lord. They are ordered. They are established. God has not played ‘hide and seek’ with us. He doesn’t say, “Find Me, if you can.” He doesn’t leave it up to us to figure out which way is the best way. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. He has laid out a path for us.

And, what is so true in life is that when a person is on that path of the Lord, they are not only traveling in the right direction, but they are leaving footprints for others to follow. That is the value of a tight and powerful fellowship. We do more than just know one another, we show each other the way that we ought to be going. Life can bog us down. Discouragement can cause us to loose momentum. Troubles can nearly get the best of us. But when we lift our head, we see not only the path of the Lord, but we see those we know walking that way. Folks just like you and I. People will busy lives, full families and crazy schedules. But there they are, walking on that path of the Lord.

If life blesses us, we get to know those that stayed on that path until the Lord called them home. It’s one thing to start down that path. Many do that. But many also get off that path. Yet there is that dear brother or sister in Christ who, aged as they are, wearing the scars of many years of faithfulness and battles, are walking courageously onward with the Lord. Some have stood at the grave of their children. Some have buried a life long spouse. They have weathered all kinds of storms. There has been economic storms and uncertainty about job security. They have gone through storms within their families. They have stayed awake many nights praying for those that they love so dearly. There has been bumps in the congregation. Yet, through all of this they have remained on that path. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.

Here are some thoughts for us:

First, the path of God doesn’t change with time. There are no shortcuts. The path doesn’t look different when you are twenty from when you are eighty. The path is set by the Lord.

Second, it helps us so much on this path to find those who have traveled it for decades and decades. Discouragement can make us start believing that we cannot make it. But we can. And, seeing others, still traveling that same path after all these years and still going strong after all those battles tells us that we can do this too. And, we need that. Somedays it seems that we are going uphill both directions. Somedays we just don’t know if we can take another step. The cry of Satan to stop is so loud. The support that we need is often lacking. We can feel alone, unsure and even unable. But, there is that old brother or that old sister in Christ. Faithful. Strong. Enduring. That causes us to lift up our heads. It causes us to keep going.

Third, we need to thank those who have walked the path of the Lord before us. I know one now who is very near the end of his journey. Faithful. Kind. Sweet. That path has made him what we all love about him. I was awake the other night, hoping that I could speak to him at least one more time on this side of life. It caused tears to come down my cheeks. What would I say? So humble, he would have never thought that he did anything special, but he did. I’d simply like to tell him, “thank you.” He made a difference to me.

Finally, we each are walking down paths. Some are established and ordered by the Lord. Some go the other way. And, without realizing it, others are watching which path we choose.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.

Roger