Walk On

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? [..] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."

- St. Paul, Romans 8:35, 37

"If you knew the magnitude of the blessing that's coming tomorrow, you'd understand the magnitude of the battle you're in today."

- Brad Reimers

The Apostle Paul's letter to God's people in Rome was no doubt the crown jewel of all his writings. By the time Paul wrote this letter (57 AD), he had been preaching the Good News story of Jesus for over a decade. Paul was in Corinth when he undoubtedly heard the tragic news that the Emperor Claudius had violently expelled all the Jewish Christians from Rome. As he thought about all his brothers and sisters being persecuted, arrested, driven from their businesses, homes and families, Paul sat down and penned these words in Romans 8, "...in all these things we are more than conquerors." Really, Paul? Really?

To conquer is to be victorious over an adversary. To be "more than a conqueror" means we not only achieve victory, but we are overwhelmingly victorious. If the final score of a basketball game is 146-6, we know the opposition put up a fight, but they were no match for the winning team. The win was way beyond the scope of a regular victory. So...where's the victory in this picture?

For the last several weeks, I've been watching my grandson, Fisher, transition from crawling to walking, and I have been amazed at his dogged persistence. I cannot tell you how many times he has fallen, scraped his knees, bumped his head, cut his chin, fattened a lip, or bruised an elbow. I mean, at my age, if that was the price of walking today, I'd settle for crawling… I might not get there as fast but at least I'd get there in one piece!

So why doesn't he just quit? I think it's because there's a Voice, deep inside this little guy, that's whispering to him, "You were born to walk...through it all...no matter how steep it is...no matter how uneven it is...no matter how difficult it is...no matter how many times Walter (the dog) knocks you down...You were born to walk. And so, time and time again, I'll watch him walk, then fall, brush himself off, sometimes wipe away a tear, pick himself up and walk again. And then, even though he still walks like a drunken sailor, he'll stop, smile, and clap His hands! ‘Cause he's proud of himself!

Sometimes we think "being more than a conqueror" is all about winning the big battles in life in big bodacious ways. But more often than not it's the little persistent baby steps of moving in the Right Direction that brings us into a Better Tomorrow. It's a long obedience in the right direction.

So if, like our brothers and sisters in Rome 2000 years ago, life has knocked you down today, why not take a lesson from a little determined wanna-be walker and listen to the Spirit's Voice whispering to you from deep within: "C'mon...You were born to walk through this. I Love You. I am with You. So… get up… brush yourself off… wipe away that tear.. .and even if you look like a drunken sailor...Walk. Then, after you do...smile and clap your hands!

God is proud of you...and you should be too!

Pastor Harry

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