Scrapped knees and falling short.

If you've ever spent any time around kids (toddlers especially), you would know that they constantly fall.

When each one of my kids were first learning how to walk, falling occurred numerous times. One step, two step, FALL. Some cheering would happen and then they would try again. One step, two step, three step...FALL.

This routine happened continually till they finally figured it out, but of course, learning to walk doesn’t mean we are immune to taking a tumble.

Falls on the playground.

Falls on the stairs.

Falls on the slippery bathroom floor.

Whenever the knees get scraped or fingers get cut, I go into Dad EMT mode, assess the situation, and stop any bleeding with a napkin, towel, or shirt from the laundry basket. I remind my kids they will be just fine and they’ll stop hurting soon. I look for the bandaids, Neosporin, and try to get things bandaged back up, all while offering love, comfort, and grace.

Do you know what I do not do?

I do not yell at them for falling.

I do not tell them to shake it off and dress their own wounds.

I do not shake my finger at them with shame or embarrassment for not being careful.

I read Romans 3:23 the other day.

It says: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

I am reminded that we all fall. Nobody is perfect. I have sinned and still keep sinning. I have missed the mark numerous times in my life. Put simply, I fall a lot. I do not always say or do the right thing. I am a work in progress and some days are better than others. Some days I fall short. Like really short. Other days not as much. But that's not really the point, is it?

We all fall short. We all sin.

But what happens when we do? What happens when I miss the mark? What do people say about me? How do they treat me? I would say I have seen two responses, both seem to be negative outcomes.

First, I have seen the shame-laced, moral response to people falling short in their walk with Christ. It may sound something like this:, “You should know better.” “You keep doing the same thing over and over.” “Will you ever get this right?”

The second response is one of enabling grace that could sound like this:

“It's okay. You can stay with me and I will take better care of you than _______.”

“Don't worry, I know exactly what you need right now”. “We all make mistakes and yours isn't worse or better than anyone else.”

When it comes to people trapped in sin or when someone we love and care for falls, these responses are ineffective. So, what can we do when the people we love fall?

We can love without judgment. Jesus said, before you judge the speck in their eye, make sure a 2 x 4 is not coming out of yours.

We can offer grace and truth. Christ calls us to be tender-hearted, gracious, and compassionate people. We must lead with this hand first. But, we must also offer truth. People need both. Sometimes patterns of falling and weakness cannot just be loved through. Oftentimes the right help and counsel needs to happen to help heal and mend the wounds.

The world is broken and fallen. There is a ton of bruising and scrapes taking place. Lots of wounds and scarring. Let’s remember that God loved us while we were yet still sinners, while we were and still are in place of the vulnerability of falling.

Let’s celebrate the forgiveness and healing Jesus offers each of us and be a vessel of love, truth, and grace in our churches and especially the world.