Watch your step! Have you ever, like me, heard that exhortation or suffered the results of ignoring it?
On a recent walk I was reminded of the real possibility of a nasty fall if I wasn’t careful. In less than the fifteen minutes it took to journey from the top of a nearby hill to our home on the level street below, I trekked down a steep incline, side-stepped rivers of washed-up sand deposited on cement pathways, avoided stretches of sidewalk that had heaved under recent rains and studiously avoided areas painted yellow by city crews.
Although I’ve made that trip many times, I always inwardly sigh with relief when I make it home without incident. At the same time I find myself thinking of a friend who started out on what seemed like a routine bike ride through the forest surrounding his home. As he moved forward on a familiar path he hit a newly fallen piece of log and flew over the handle bars of his bicycle. Just minutes earlier he’d entered the woods as a healthy, newly retired professional; he left in an ambulance and began his life as a quadriplegic. All I can say is if I ever have such a misfortune I would want to display the same strength of character and refusal to give up that he displays.
Watching our step (or our wheels) isn’t always easy. In spite of clearly marked dangers, we sometimes trip; in the face of warnings, we are not immune from stumbling. In his letter to the Christians living in Ephesus, Paul not only urged each individual to watch how they walked, he warned them of the dangers of careless disobedience.
“Walk in love as Christ also has loved us.”
Where self gratification shouts “opportunity”, there is safety in choosing God’s definition of love.
