In your mind, try to picture a participant in a track meet running the high hurdles. He is winning as he approaches the final hurdle. Suddenly there’s a painful fall. He trips on the last hurdle and falls flat on his face just before the finish line. The pain and embarrassment of his fall are oddly familiar to how we as Christians feel when we trip and fall.
Despite all of our Lenten sacrifices and the spiritual high of Easter, we are still inclined to stumble.
I was that athlete above that fell. In what seems like a previous life, way back in high school, I was a pretty decent track and field athlete – if I may say so myself. One event that I really enjoyed, and did quite well in, was the 120-yard high hurdles. There was something exhilarating about sprinting at full speed toward a waist-high obstacle and leaping over it with nothing but timing, strength and just a little fear.
One particular race is forever etched in my memory – not because I won, but because I didn’t.
I was in the lead, and things were going great. My steps were clean, my form was sharp and I had just one more hurdle to go before the finish line. I saw the ribbon in sight and thought, “I’ve got this.” But just as I lifted my leg over the final hurdle, the toe of my shoe clipped the top bar. It didn’t take much. Just a tap. But it was enough to send me crashing face-first onto the track. I didn’t just trip – I wiped out. It was the kind of fall that leaves you with embedded gravel, bruised pride, and a reminder that you should always finish the race before you start celebrating.
Starting out strong
As I reflect back on those day, I realize how much our Christian journey mirrors that race. We start out strong. We set goals. We make plans to leave sin behind. Maybe we vow to give up an old habit, forgive someone who hurt us, or finally build that prayer life we keep saying we want. Like the start of a race, there’s adrenaline and excitement.
We jump over the early hurdles: resisting temptation, setting new boundaries, avoiding old haunts. We get into a rhythm. We start to think, “Maybe we’re actually getting this discipleship thing down!”
And then – WHAM. We fall flat on our face in a cloud of dust and shame.
This feels especially real in the season we’ve just come through. We journeyed through Lent, fasted, prayed, and gave alms. Lent was like our preseason training. We practiced hard and planned to give ourselves completely to the Lord.
Easter Sunday was like the starter’s gun going off. The firing of the starter’s gun sent us forward with fresh resolve and renewed passion. We likely came out of the starting block strengthened by the resurrection, and yet, some of us have already fallen. After just a few hurdles some of us have already caught our toe on temptation. Maybe we stumbled in a moment of anger, lust, pride or selfishness. Perhaps we fell as soon as Holy Week was over. The high of Easter was still real – but the pain of falling so soon still stings. Still others may not have even made it all of the way through Lent without a fall.
its about perseverance
Whether our falls occurred during Lent or after Easter, we must all take heart. The Christian life is never about perfection. It’s about perseverance.
The Book of Proverbs says, “The just man falls seven times and rises again” (Proverbs 24:16). Notice it doesn’t say the wicked fall seven times. It says the just man – the one who is trying, the one who is striving after God, the one who wants to live right – he’s the one who falls. The difference is, he gets back up.
God doesn’t ask us to be flawless hurdlers. He asks us to finish the race. Saint Paul put it this way: “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). Not “I never stumbled” or “I won every heat.” Just: I finished.
Our falls do not disqualify us from grace. Our falls may be the very thing that softens our pride, humbles our spirit and draws us closer to the Savior who lifts us from the dust.
Jesus knows what it’s like to fall. On the road to Calvary, under the weight of the Cross, He stumbled more than once. But He got back up for you and for me. And because He rose again, we can rise, too. So, if we’ve fallen over a hurdle, we can’t stay down. We must get up, catch our breath, and get back in the race. The finish line is still there. The crowd of witnesses is still cheering. And the Lord is still running beside us.
We may have tripped over one of life’s hurdles, but we are not disqualified. We are still in the running. And grace, not perfection, is what wins this race.
Heavenly Father, when I trip and stumble over the hurdles of life, and when sin causes me to land flat on my face, please pick me up, clean me off, repair my wounds, and forgive my sins. Help me to get back in the race. Help me to always keep my eyes on the prize of Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen!
Brian Pusateri, a Christian author and speaker, founded 4th Day Letters and Broken Door Ministries. This is condensed from an essay published at www.brokendoorministries.com.