I won’t go
into too many specifics here, but a few years ago I tripped and fell flat on my
face in front of the entire congregation during a worship service. This particular morning while ascending onto
the platform to sing in the choir, I happen to be sporting some rather high heels. I somehow caught one of my heels on the leg
of a choir chair. In spite of all of my efforts to regain my balance, I ended
up not so gracefully on the auditorium stage.
If that was not horrendous and humiliating enough, I somehow managed to knock
over several choir chairs on my way down to meet the floor. I am thankful however that I was wearing a longer skirt at the time and was able to keep a modest appearance.
Forever
etched on my brain will be the priceless stares I received as a result of my
unfortunate mishap. I witnessed many
concerned expressions which were somewhat comforting; however there were a
handful of parishioners who were smiling and even laughing at me! Oh if this could only have been a wretched
nightmare instead of blatant reality! I
seriously contemplated crawling into the nearest dark corner where I could die.
Call me slightly
dramatic, but after our choir special was finished I promptly limped as quickly
as I could to exit the church building and hurried home. My emotions went wacko as I proceeded to
laugh and cry uncontrollably all afternoon under the covers in my bed. Replaying this upsetting experience over and
over in my mind in slow motion did not seem to comfort me whatsoever.
I also
informed my husband that I would soon be withdrawing my church membership due
to utter embarrassment. After spending
some time in much needed prayer, some semblance of my sanity slowly began to
return as I confessed my pride to God. I
felt totally sorry for myself but finally resolved no longer to linger in my
sin of self pity.
Suffering
that kind of mortification made an indelible impression on me, BUT what I will
never ever forget is the reaction of the young lady who was walking behind me
when I fell down. She graciously reached out her hand and helped me back up to
my feet, then carefully straightened up all of the chairs I’d knocked over. Her warm smile and reassuring hug granted me
a glimmer of hope that everything was going to be okay. Her Christ like example served as an
extension of the loving hand of God and was a reminder of how we should all be helping
others who happen to stumble physically as well as those who fall spiritually.
Never once
did I see that young ladies finger waiving in my face telling me I needed to be more
observant of my surroundings or stop wearing high heels. There was no implication that I was a
terrible person for falling and that I deserved to suffer the consequences for
my situation. Grace, mercy and love were
poured out to me and I will never forget the healing that came to my soul as a
result of her simple yet compassionate response to my dreadful circumstances.
Is this the very
same response that we have with other Christians that fall down spiritually around
us? Or instead do we simply choose to
point our fingers in judgment and disapproving condemnation at the plight of
the fallen? It is crucial for us to
remember all of the times when we ourselves have desperately needed assistance and what
kind of response from others has helped us to heal spiritually.
We are
reminded in Galatians 6:1 of what to do when others fall down around
us,“Brothers, if anyone is caught
in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of
gentleness.” Why does God instruct us to handle things this way instead of looking down at others with a
prideful gaze of judgment? We go on to
read in verses 2 and 3 that give us a warning from God that we must
always keep at the forefront of our minds.
“Keep watch on yourself unless you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the
law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he
is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
Bearing the
burdens of others means to lift them up and humbly encourage them in love when
they have spiritually failed. God is our
ultimate burden bearer, but He desires to work through us to help others bear
their heavy loads. All the while we are
helping the oppressed we are actually fulfilling the law of Christ. We’re told that the same mercy that we extend
to others will also be shown to us when we fall.
Many
Christians get tripped up on verse 3 because of our nasty sin of pride. We’re warned stop deceiving ourselves about our sin and keep watching and discerning our own spiritual condition,
unless we too fall down.
We begin to
believe that since we haven’t fallen down recently that we are invincible and
immune to stumbling. Watch out! Possessing this kind of arrogant attitude will most assuredly lead us to
suffer another embarrassing fall. How can we expect others to want to help us up when we've only acted in prideful judgment toward them instead of love?
We all need
hugs and kind words of encouragement when we have fallen but there are also
times when we do need someone else to speak the truth in love to us when we are
in error. In the spirit of humility we
must be willing to make some changes in our spiritual lives so that we can become more
conformed to the image of Christ. All of
us need spiritual guidance from those who have gone through the valleys we are currently
facing. We must all possess a teachable spirit and be willing to share the lessons God has taught us with others in the spirit of gentleness. We’re all sinners and will
continually need others to help us up in times of troubles.
May each of
us keep in mind the forgiveness, grace, love and mercy that God and others have
granted to us. May we also extend those
same Christ like virtues to others who have fallen. The next time we witness that someone has
tripped up spiritually, may we remember to never look down on them unless we
are helping them back up to their feet again.
