Fall Down, It's OK

Ruins of Cathedral and Priory, St. Andrews, Scotland

In church one morning, a story the pastor told stuck in my mind for reflection later on. It was about grace, and how Jesus falls down with the fallen.

At a dinner party the writer William Faulkner was at, a gentleman pulled a chair out for a lady, but she was busy talking to someone else nearby, and as she went to sit down, she ended up on the floor. Mr. Faulkner immediately joined her on the floor so she wouldn't feel alone and embarrassed.

That's what Jesus did for us. He became lower than a servant for us. He demonstrated to us how to fall down with the fallen so we wouldn't feel alone. How many people would do something like that?

What happens when we mess up? What if we fail in a huge way? Does it really matter?

No.

A failure doesn't make you any less worthy of God's love. We can't earn His love, or lose it. A failure doesn't mean we should give up, either. In fact, it means the opposite.

It means we should try harder and have confidence that God wants us to succeed. All it takes is that next time you try. That's when you stand.

It is always simple to fall; there are an infinity of angles at which one falls, only one at which one stands. - G.K. Chesterton