Cause for Stumbling

"He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him."

1 John 2:10

Anyone who stands upright and walks has the potential to stumble.  We have all stumbled at times for various reasons and exhibited degrees of athleticism as we struggled to keep our feet.  Some of us have had the unpleasant experience of catching a wall or piece of furniture with a toe or have been intentionally tripped by someone else.  Those guilty of dragging their feet or not paying attention to where they were walking because they were fixated on their phones have stumbled and fallen.

When we speak of physically stumbling nearly every time there is an external contributing factor, like a slippery surface, a raised kerb or uneven ground.  It is possible for people to be "stumbled" mentally because of something we have heard or seen that trips us up, like a pastor who was inebriated with alcohol or discovering a person we respect has been secretly living a lie.  Many Jews in Jesus' day "stumbled" at the suggestion Jesus was the Son of God and salvation was by faith in Him alone and not by attempts to keep the Law.  They expected the Messiah to be a conquering king, not a suffering servant, and they thought John the Baptist a more legitimate prophet than Jesus because of His (as was supposed) illegitimate birth.

The apostle John explains not all causes of stumbling are from external factors or can be rightly blamed on others:  there can be causes of stumbling within each one of us.  The implication is our own hearts and minds can be a minefield of offence shrouded in darkness where stumbling is inevitable.  We cannot help what others will do and say, but those who are born again and follow Jesus in loving one another have "no cause for stumbling" in us.  I have found this to be absolutely true.  Should feelings of frustration, annoyance and anger rise up within me because of offences, the prime reason is I have ceased to walk in love towards others.  Loving our brother shows we walk in the light of God's grace and the Gospel of Jesus, and the stumbling blocks of keeping records of wrongs and self-righteousness is removed from us.

It is very easy to be troubled and agitated when people try to trip us up, and it is even easier to stumble when the cause of stumbling is within us due to our sinful refusal to love others.  Let us look to the God who commands us to follow Him and love one another as our example and source of love, wisdom and strength.  Hatred, selfishness and pride are internal stumbling blocks that lead to spiritual stumbling and wounds only God has the power to heal.  Having eyes opened by faith in Jesus, as we walk in humility we are enabled to see clearly how our lack of love causes us to stumble.  Praise the LORD the Light of the World Jesus Christ shines and shows us our need to walk in love, otherwise we will stumble in the dark and remain clueless the reason is within us.  

Employed in Praise

After King David brought the ark of God into Jerusalem and placed it in the tabernacle prepared for it, 1 Chronicles 16:4-6 says:  "And he appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the LORD God of Israel: ⁵ Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, and Obed-Edom: Jeiel with stringed instruments and harps, but Asaph made music with cymbals; ⁶ Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests regularly blew the trumpets before the ark of the covenant of God."  David appointed Levites to commemorate (bring to remembrance), thank and praise the LORD together with stringed instruments, harps, cymbals and trumpets.

The picture of the Levites, sanctified and dedicated to remembering, thanking and praising God is fitting in light of His awesome majesty and holiness.  It makes me examine my priorities afresh when it comes to having paid staff at a church.  When there are few paid staff often they wear many hats.  It boosts efficiency when there are people to do building maintenance, office administration, financial reporting, teaching, training and pastoral care.  This wasn't the case for David and Israel, as there were many Levites serving besides these men, but imagine if a dedicated worship team was the first hire of a church body!  I wonder if those musicians in the tabernacle began to make names for themselves as they skillfully praised God.  It is a glorious feat (especially in our day with the ability to record and broadcast music) to continue to remember, thank and praise God faithfully, and God deserves no less.

I praise the LORD and thank Him for the skills He has given people to write music, play instruments and lift their voices to honour and glorify God.  All He has done, is doing and will do is praiseworthy.  Praise of God should not be reserved for a select few, for the final words of the book of Psalms exhorts all in Psalm 150:6, "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!"  Not all of us are called to lead worship; not all are called to teach or be missionaries.  However, all who have breath are called to remember, thank and praise the LORD God of Israel.  David said in Psalm 40:5, "Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."

Since the LORD our God is good, has done wonderful works and His favourable thoughts towards us cannot be recounted, let us praise Him.  In remembering our LORD we are moved to thank and praise Him.  Recounting our past can be a source of pain at times, but remembering the God Who was, is and is to come will fill our minds and hearts with joyful praise.  What has the LORD said and what has He done?  Those who fix their eyes on Jesus are like the elders that fall before the throne of God employed in God's praise in Revelation 4:11, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created."  Let us remember, thank and praise our worthy God!

A Word of Encouragement

It is good to realise when God provides encouragement for you, it can also be for others.  By God's grace we can be His messengers to encourage, exhort and edify others by freely sharing what God has shown us.  When a person is excited about a good book, quality service or an amazing experience, their enthusiasm draws our interest.  This is also true as the LORD speaks to us through the Bible in our time of need, and we ought to be most excited and blessed to hear from God.

After being greeted with troubling news, I was delighted to open God's word and find refreshing water for my needy soul.  As the words cascaded upon my parched mind, the scripture brought unexpected joy and rest.  While God's word is true and timeless, it can also be most timely.  My eyes fell on Psalm 37:1-8 and my heart drank it in:  "Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. ² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. ³ Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. ⁴ Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. ⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. ⁷ Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. ⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret--it only causes harm."

Several times in these verses David exhorted the reader not to fret.  To "fret" means to wear away with friction; to chafe; to trouble, agitate, disturb.  Fretting can be subtle because it occurs slowly over time.  There are no shortages of situations and people that rub us wrong, circumstances that trouble us as we worry without realising it.  The light of God's word revealed to me I had only been up a few minutes but I had been fretting in that short time, and it was doing harm rather than good.  I appreciate God does not only point out our sins and lack of faith but also directs and empowers us by the Holy Spirit to do His will instead:  to trust in the LORD, delight in Him, commit our way to the LORD, rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him.  There is nothing boring or dull about following Jesus, for there is much He desires to do in and through our lives.

Had I already faithfully put into practice the "do's" of Psalm 37, I would not have been fretting.  My perspective and countenance would have been marked by satisfaction in the LORD, delight, confidence in God, patience, attitudes free of frustration and worry.  The word "fret" is repeated three times in this passage, and "LORD" is repeated four times.  The one who remembers the LORD and honours Him with faith and obedience will endure, unlike the workers of iniquity which will be cut down--though they flourish for a season.  The righteousness of Christians is received by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone who gives us salvation, redemption and eternal life.  Why should we fret when we know the LORD who reigns on high who delights in us?

Focusing on Jesus

I grew up playing baseball.  I enjoyed the game and all success I experienced was because I had great coaches--which included my dad.  For those who aren't familiar with baseball, even the fundamentals of the sport are quite complex and take years of practice to master.  One of the things I was taught from an early age after hitting the ball or stealing a base was to not waste time craning my neck to see what the fielder or catcher was doing.  I never had blazing speed and the action of turning to look towards home could have led to me being thrown out at second base.  Once committed to advance bases, the next base (while heeding the directives of the base coach!) was the priority.

With all that is going on in our lives and the world it is easy to lose focus on Jesus.  In light of the historical suffering of God's faithful people and persecuted believers Hebrews 12:1-2 states, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."  When running a race it is tempting to focus on the finish line, and during our pilgrimage on earth it may be tempting to look forward to a new beginning, the end of a challenging season or the end of our days on earth instead of looking unto Jesus.  Our focus is not the finish, but that we finish well.  The only way we can finish well is to abide in Christ, to look to our Good Shepherd Jesus and follow Him in obedience and faith until the end.

Hebrews 12:3 gives us insight how we can know our gaze has drifted from Christ:  "For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."  Should we find ourselves weary and discouraged, this is evidence we have ceased to look to Jesus and are more caught up with ourselves, fretting over the prosperity of the wicked, giving space to thinking that disregards or opposes Jesus and countless other things that distract us from our LORD.  Jesus was not weary and discouraged when He was betrayed, rejected and crucified because of the job that was set before Him, His eyes being fixed on God the Father in heaven Whom He was pleased to obey.  Jesus reminded His disciples they would face hostility and opposition even as He had because "the servant is not above his master." (John 15:20)

Jesus said to His disciples in John 16:1-4, "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. ² They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. ³ And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. ⁴ But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you."  Instead of removing His disciples from the world to avoid persecution and trials, in His wisdom God allows His followers to remain and be helped by the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.  Our endurance and overcoming shame, hostility, weariness and discouragement with joy provides evidence to us and others of the genuine work of God in our hearts.  Having known Jesus Christ by faith in Him, we do well to look to Him and remember the things He has said, done and the example He provided.

Be looking unto Jesus, believer, and you will always be led in God's righteous ways and finish well by His grace.