Gymnastics!

A balance beam. They are very easy to fall off of. Unless, that is, you've had proper training. And trust me, I'm terrible when it comes to gymnastics. I'm too big :P But anyway, I've been thinking about the similarities and contrast between the Christian walk, and a gymnast on a balance beam. I know, you're probably rolling your eyes, but hey, give me a break, I'm tired! You know what, instead of rolling your eyes, why don't don''t you go make yourself useful and get me a cup of coffee :P

1

In the life of a Christian, a person must never stray from the narrow way, or else they will stumble and fall. (I'm not saying as a Christian you'll never stray, because sadly, we will. I'm just saying that when you stray from Christ, you will stumble and fall. Just wanted to clear that up.)

similarity

When on a balance beam, you must stay on its narrow ledge, otherwise you'll fall off.

2

When a Christian stumbles, he must not stay on the ground. He must look to Christ, rise up from the ground, and resume his journey. Before we can rise from the ground though, we must be forgiven, and sometimes healed from the wounds we received when we fell.

similarity

When a gymnast falls off a balance beam, he must not remain on the ground either. Before he can again perform on the beam though, he must be healed of his injuries from his fall.

3

In our walk, we must not rely on ourselves or our ability to do the right thing. Instead, we need to fully rely on Christ in us, and to follow Him and His teaching. We can totally rely on Christ for everything. He doesn't need our abilities, though he may use

contrast

While a gymnast, too, must rely on what he is taught, he also must fully rely on himself and his abilities. He must have confidence in his own strength.



Sorry, I can't think of anymore... my brain is fried. I've been up since 5 o'clock and I'm tired :P But really, I'm just trying to get my thoughts out again. The important thing in all this, I think anyway, is that when we do stumble, we need to make sure that we don't stay down. I'm not saying that I think you should be popping up and down like crazy either, by any means. I just think it's important that we look to Christ as soon as we've realized that we stumbled.

Well, I gotta get going... I hope all of you are doing well, and that you have had a good winter so far! God bless you all!

Kevin