Stumbling through life
Jude 24-25 (ESV)
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
How old were you when you learned to walk? Most of us will have no idea. We know generally when children take their first steps, but we don’t know for sure. We have no memory of those first wobbly steps. It’s something we have been doing our entire lives and don’t really think about. However, when we were little, we needed help to keep us from falling down. We couldn’t walk without holding onto something or with the help of our parents.
This is what this passage is like. Our Christian walk is like a child’s walk. It is uncertain, shaky and filled with bumps and falls. However, we have a God who is so good, He will keep us from stumbling. What does that mean, exactly? How does God keep us from stumbling? None of us are without sin and we often stumble in our Christian walk.
God’s promise to keep us from stumbling is not the promise of perfection in this life. Rather, it is the promise that no matter what, He will not let us fall away from His salvation. We will not stumble away from our Lord, for our Lord is the one who guides us. In fact, He will present us as blameless before the Father.
This is an amazing truth. Not only is God like a father or mother who is helping their child take their first steps and supporting them. He also presents us as if we never did anything wrong in our lives. He presents us to the Father as the Father sees the Son: blameless and perfect. He is able to do this because the Son took on Himself the punishment that we deserved. The Son, Jesus, was treated as sinful, so that we can be treated as blameless. Truly, this is the God who deserves all the glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen!
This week, think about what Christ has done for you. He has given everything so that you do not have to stumble through life, not knowing whether or not you are saved. Give Him the glory and share this good news with those around you.