God will Help Us Keep on Going

We are God's children.  That is a wonderful thought, for it implies that God loves us and that He desires us to live out the potential that each on of us have.  Isn't that what parents want for their children?  Parents want their children to achieve their potential and which uses their many talents.  In this train of thought what parents are looking in their children is progression.  Parents are thrilled when their baby rolls over, then are equally thrilled when baby begins to crawl, to walk, and then run.  Parents don't expect their baby to come out of the womb running 100 yard sprints, and they are excited by the progression of the child to get to that point.  Parents also know that if a child does not move past crawling then something is seriously wrong.

As we follow Jesus and seek to become more like him what God wants to see in our lives is a progression. It would not make sense for God to expect us to come up out of the waters of baptism, new creations in Christ, able to love perfectly.  There is a progression that follows with the ultimate goal being to love like Christ.  To have love such a part of who we are that we love people without thinking about it, that it happens automatically.  The question we need to consider is not whether or not we are perfect in our love, but whether or not we are making progress in our love?

Here is the thought that struck me this morning as I thought about the above, just as there are things that halt a child's progress in walking or learning, there are things in our lives that can halt our progress in becoming like Jesus.  These things vary from our emotional "wiring" to a severely dysfunctional family to addictions.  When our progression is halted does God then condemn us to hell?  If we are broken and can't take the next step despite our best efforts are we doomed?  Consider how a parent of disable child reacts.  The good parents continue to love and continue to help the child in whatever ways are needed.

God, being the best Father, isn't going to give up on us because our progression towards  Christ likeness was halted by drug addiction, by emotional baggage that makes trusting people impossible, or a temptation that will not go away.  Instead God is going to love us and use His power to enable us to continue on as we become more like Jesus.  God will not abandon us if we are not perfect.  Like a loving Father He will take us in His arms and help us keep on going.