Went hiking with my husband this morning. We did three peaks in 3 hours! As we walked in the early morning hours under a canopy of clouds, we were careful not to trip over rocks and debris on the trail. As the sun gained momentum over the clouds and we were onto our second peak, we were a little more sure-footed on the trail, carefully maneuvering around the larger boulders and planting our feet squarely while in the scree. As our hike continued and we were heading towards our third circumference and peak, I tripped over a small pebble about the size of a walnut. I didn't even realize this small stone would cause so much havoc!
The more I thought about this pebble, the more I thought about the "little" sins in our lives that we don't pay attention to. It's not the big ones, like stealing and murder. Those we tend to navigate around pretty easily like the larger boulders on the trail. We also walk carefully, just like the scree on the trail, guarding ourselves against opportunities that might lead us into adultery. You know that guy (if your a gal) at work who is going through a difficult time and you just want to cheer him up and help him through it. Watch out! That is just like scree, one little misstep and you fall headlong into unwanted sin. Which is why we are careful in those situations and either stay away from them, ask another Christian male to act as his mentor, or keep all contact with him in groups of people, never alone.
But its those little pebbles that always seams to get us into big trouble. Those are lying, gossiping, unwarranted anger, slothfulness, gluttony, pride...all those little sins we don't pay attention to in our lives yet are a stumbling block to ourselves and others. We don't pay attention to them or give them any credence; so they creep into our lives without us even realizing they are there. We need to ask God to make these "little" sins known, so our walk in Christ will not be wrought with continual stumbling. What kind of witness would we be then?
Soli Deo Gloria!
~patti kerr
thank you for sharing your insights! I'd like to hike with you sometime.
ReplyDeletePatti this blog spoke to my heart. I agree we tend to let the little stones build up and they tend to create walls. Walls we really never knew and realized were there. We sometimes justify those small stones of sin that separate our relationships with spouses, family and friends. Then when the Lord wants to break those walls down to reach us and show us He has to break out the stones one by one until we see what has occured by justifying to ourselves this stone is okay. That person hurt me, I will keep them out. I won't love that person they too are kept at a distance and so the wall builds until our loving Father steps in and starts chipping away the pebbles and stones we allowed. Reading this today goes hand in hand with God's loving hand on my life and I never realized the extent of the stones in my life. It is hard to let God mold us and to love when others are not loving to us or meeting our expectations. Often as you said the wall creates the barrier to let others wrongfully offer emotional support. God should be the only "rock" in our lives. And if we let Him we should feel an abundance of life and love and it should be easy to love others when He pours into our lives His love. Great blog and one that so ministered to me and I thank God for He knew the time you would write it and bless me with His wisdom. As iron sharpens iron so one mans countenance sharpens another. I love you little sis! We are all being built up but we do not want to carry the burden of sins or allow them to build walls. Lord Jesus keep us open to these stumbling stones and open to you and those you placed in our lives.
ReplyDeleteTerri :)