A Child’s First Steps

A Child’s First Steps

Do you remember watching a baby learn to walk? First, he holds Mom’s hand tightly, walking with the reassurance of that grip. Soon he lets go, taking tentative steps on his chubby legs. Back and forth he walks, from Mom to Dad and back to Mom. He has complete confidence; his parents will protect him. After his confidence grows, he ventures out on his own.

The steps are slow and the child is wobbly, sometimes swaying to capture his balance. He falls often, usually by plopping onto his padded bottom. But he doesn’t give up. After falling, he may crawl toward his goal and then get up and walk a few more steps. So it goes: walk, walk, plop, crawl, crawl, walk, walk, plop. Repeatedly, he toddles his erratic walk. Sometimes he’s off balance and lurches to one side; sometimes he rushes to keep from falling forward. But he walks. He learns. Before long, he is running. He runs everywhere. He is so full of the joy of running that he forgets to crawl.

When we first accept Jesus as our Savior, we are born again; becoming babies in the spiritual world. As spiritual babies, we learn to walk spiritually. Our heavenly Father watches over us as we learn. Like a baby, we are tentative at first, unwilling to venture out on our own. Just as the earthly father encourages his children to walk, our heavenly Father encourages us on our spiritual walks. Like our earthly fathers, He holds his out arms, hoping we will bravely walk toward Him.

With God’s guidance and encouragement, we gather the courage to take tentative steps. We wobble, just as the baby does. Yes, we fall down. Unfortunately, unlike the baby, we sometimes refuse to move.

The key to improving our spiritual walk is to keep trying, just as the baby does. When we lose our balance and fall, we cannot just sit. We get up and continue to walk; if we cannot walk, we crawl. Learning to walk with God is a slow process: walk, walk, plop, crawl, crawl, walk, walk, plop.

The baby does not give up when he falls; neither should we. Over and over, we step toward our Father. No matter how wobbly and unsure our steps, we make progress toward Him. Before long we find ourselves walking toward God with confidence, perhaps even running with joy.

Oh God, our Father, guide us as we learn to walk with You. Teach us, encourage us, help us stand back up when we fall.

II Peter 3:17, 18 “Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”