Our first son, Hubo, just turned one last week and he’s been learning to walk on his own for the past few weeks. He was gaining ground, but now I bought him shoes, (he’s been in socks all along) his newest challenge is walking in the shoes….it’s literally taken him one step back.
Poor baby, wish it was summer and he didn’t have to wear shoes but he’ll be strong ?
It got me thinking about how Christianity is like a baby learning to walk in shoes. When we first encounter Christ, His Word, values, principles, etc, all of it seems so foreign because we’ve been walking barefoot all our lives. We are excited at the idea of these new shoes, but it’s a bit of a challenge letting go of our old ways, and getting used to these shoes. Over time, though, as we put them on everyday, we start to get the hang of it.
I was actually tempted to just let Hubo continue with his socks vibe because it wasn’t nice to see him struggling, he just wasn’t confident with these shoes…..he’d get up, try to take a step, realise there’s something foreign on his feet…and simply resort to the familiar….crawl ?. But I figured, at some point he’ll need to learn to walk in shoes.
So today (after a few days of trying) he started taking proper steps in the shoes, was so excited for him!! We’re getting there!
With following Christ as well, as we put the shoes on everyday, we get used to it, until we do it subconsciously. And thing is, some people may think it just happens but it’s a process and journey of Choosing to put the shoes on every single day…..choosing to love, choosing to forgive, choosing to say no to temptations, choosing to put your faith in Him, etc all the time until it becomes a lifestyle.
It’s all about the choices you make, whether you realise you are making the choice or not. And, what I like about God is that there’s so much freedom that you can also choose not to put the shoes on on a certain morning and He won’t strike you down….. There have been days when I’ve been so caught up with stuff or whatever that I realise by my actions or my thoughts that I don’t have my shoes on, and I have to run back home and get them. It is also that easy to let them slip off…..or not be intentional about putting them on.
So we had fun walking around in the shoes. Each time, a few more steps…..each time a bit more confident. And even when he was a bit unstable, it was ok because I was just one step away waiting to catch him.
You see, I think that’s one thing we don’t get about Our Perfect Parent…..that He’s always there, waiting to catch us when we fall. Does that mean we won’t fall because He’s the Perfect Parent….no, it means He will catch us when we fall.
I feel like sometimes we think that God is that parent who wants us to just start walking…..while He stands a bit further on the sidelines watching, daring us not to fall…..far from! I don’t know how many times Hubo stumbled and fell today, even with all the confidence and progress…..but it didn’t matter….it wasn’t about how many times he fell but each time he fell, I was cheering him on to try again, because despite the falling I knew he was gonna get the shoes thing right.
“So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him” Matthew7:11 NLT
Amplified: “If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good (and) advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in Heaven (perfect as He is) give good (and) advantageous things to those who keep asking Him.
The level of truth and assurance this article carries, beyond. Thing is we seldom relate to Him as that ‘guy’ with the red pen ticking our actions and if we get more wrongs than right then we aren’t worthy of Him. 1 Corinth1:30 and Romans 8:35-39 always breathes life into me when I realise that I forgot my shoes and ashamed to go home and wear ‘them.
Thank you!!!Let His word be spread