Back on Your Feet

Bible Reading: 1 John 2:1-6

Baby Charlie toddled unsteadily from the sofa to a chair. Brianna watched him for a moment before turning her attention back to the book she was reading. Soon he was off again, this time heading for an armchair on the other side of the living room. About halfway there, he teetered for a moment, then sat down hard. He looked surprised, as if he wondered what had pushed him down. Seconds later, he pushed himself to his feet and continued walking toward the chair.

“I’m surprised Charlie keeps getting back up so quickly,” Brianna told her mom. “Sometimes he falls really hard, but he always picks himself up and keeps going.”

“Most babies are determined to get where they want to go,” Mom said. She smiled as she watched the little boy get back on his feet. “It reminds me of the struggles we often have as Christians.”

“What do you mean?” asked Brianna.

“Well, as Christians, we have the goal of becoming more like Jesus,” Mom replied, “but like Charlie, we fall sometimes—we fall into sin.”

“Yeah,” said Brianna, thinking of her struggle to break her habit of lying.

“When we fall into sin, we get back on our feet by confessing our sin to Jesus and anyone else we’ve wronged,” said Mom. “And we keep going by relying on Jesus to help us obey what He says in the Bible.”

Brianna sighed. “But I always end up falling again.”

Just then, little Charlie fell with a thud. He whimpered and briefly crawled on his knees, but then he carefully stood back up and started walking again.

“As Charlie learns to walk, he’ll fall quite a bit,” said Mom, “but he’ll get back up each time. He’ll get better and better at walking, and eventually he’ll hardly ever fall. Like Charlie, you and I also fall—we fail to obey Jesus. Each time that happens, we need to confess our sin and remember that Jesus has set us free from sin’s power so we can say no to temptation. When we do that, we can choose again and again to do what’s right.” – Richard S. Maffeo

How About You?

Are you frustrated because you keep doing wrong things over and over? If you’re struggling with sin in your life, confess what you’ve done to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you. Remember that He has set you free from sin and gives you the power to do what’s right. The more you focus on all He’s done for you and that He’s shaping you to be more like Him, the less you’ll fall.

Today’s Key Verse:
1 John 2:6 The one who says he belongs to Christ should live the same kind of life Christ lived. (NKJV)

Today’s Key Thought:

If you fall spiritually, get back up