Jesus As My Crutch.....

I remember many years ago how men in particular would often criticize religion and in particular Christianity. They would infer that religion was a crutch for weak people. It was all very manly and macho but in hindsight I now view the attitude displayed by those strong male critics as a clear indicator of what motivates self-made people. If it all begins and ends with us then we are the master of our own fate. That is partially true. If you look hard and long enough at what people are saying you can often find some truth. I think that the "Jesus is a Crutch" crowd really had something valid in their criticism while at the same time they were completely ingnorant of what a relationship with Jesus really means. The weakness that they perceived was probably irresponsibility. I know that I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt but underneath all the nasty stuff there lies some real truth. The Lord's desire for us is to mature and take on the likeness of His son. Mature son's and daughters no longer sit on the lap of their daddy. They are engaging life with all that they learned in their up bringing.

The relationship is different when we mature but we certainly can't go it alone without Jesus. As we mature we are now considered co-laborers with Christ. He actually elevated us to that level and yet so many of us struggle with the richness of our inheritance. We really can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us and when that becomes active in the very center of our being we will see much of what has been lost completely restored. We lose strength and power apart from Christ. We fumble and struggle to live the Christian life without Him. It is impossible.

I am reading a book. It is fiction but it is full of wisdom and powerful trues. There is a chapter in the book about a man walking across the water with Jesus. When he was in partnership with Jesus he was able to walk across the lake right along side the master. Later on in the book he tries the same thing. He starts out on his own while Jesus was still at the shore. His first few steps weren't that successful. His feet sunk to the bottom. He looked back at Jesus and then saw Jesus step on the water and walk toward him. The closer Jesus got to him, the more his own steps started to rise up from the bottom until he was walking on top of the water once again. He didn't do so well by himself but he did just fine while walking with Jesus.

Jesus is not a crutch. He is our partner and brother as we mature. Yes, he is God for sure but remember Jesus became like us for our benefit and that still holds true today.