"Taking The Fall"
April 03, 2009
1 Corinthians 15:58: - Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
|  |
|
The first time I ever passed out I was 15 years old. I remember feeling hot and short of breath. I remember losing my ability to focus, and then my vision narrowed. It was like looking down a long dark tunnel and seeing a small picture of light framed by dark walls. When I passed out, it felt like the tunnel rushed upon me suddenly, and pulled me in deeper. The light on the other side got smaller, until all I could see was blackness. It was at that moment I fell.
It was my face hitting the corner of the table and then the floor that snapped me out of it. Now, while falling is painful, the most damaging and painful of all falls is the spiritual fall into sin that every one of us knows all too well. We feel the fall when guilt plagues our consciences. We feel the fall when we're confronted with death. We feel the fall when we sense the devil doing some evil work around us or inside us. It always hurts.
Nonetheless, in this passage from 1 Corinthians, Paul is speaking words of encouragement, and his words-"be steadfast, immovable"-point us to the Savior in whose death and resurrection we are forgiven and lifted up from our fallen sinful states. It is by His grace that standing is made possible, and so we stand firm in His love; because, quite literally, He took the fall for us.
THE PRAYER: Gracious Lord, in this season of Lent we remember Your death and the depth of Your love for us. Help us to stand firm in Your grace and Your abiding love. Amen.
Written by Pastor Joel Brandt
Trinity Lutheran Church - Wausau, Wisconsin
|
