Have you ever done a face-plant? Every few years, I trip over a tree root while running and fall face forward. So far it has not been fatal, but it is disconcerting. How about spiritually? Ever fallen on your face? Before the group split up, DC Talk used to sing, “What if I stumble? What if I fall? What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?” They prefaced the song on their album with Frank Laubach saying, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world, simply finds unbelievable.” The stakes are high.
Jesus’ little brother Jude lived in a day of apostasy. Impostors infiltrated the church, pretending to be Christ-followers. How could they distinguish between true and false followers of Jesus? The Holy Spirit. Those who pray in the Holy Spirit are true followers. We may stumble but we will not fall away from God’s grace.
Fully transformed by God’s mercy, we show mercy to others, snatching them from the fire. We love sinners and hate sin. Our salvation is secure not because we keep ourselves from stumbling but because God is able. He will present us before his presence someday without fault and with great joy. Our stumbles will not be our story because Jesus is our story. Psalm 37:24 say, “The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him. Though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” With Jude, what if we fell on our faces in worship and prayed the eternal doxology today?
