Looking to Jesus

Deeper Engagement with Him

By: Loreli Cockram (Young Parents Team Leader)

Photo by Rafael Gonzales

But those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on the wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

- Isaiah, Isaiah 40:31

Then Jesus turned toward the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.’

Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’

- Luke 7:44-48

We can make the mistake of believing that we receive Jesus in levels, like a video game. With each new learning or growth in our lives - having an experience of Jesus, making a confession, receiving new understanding - we can think that it is ground we won’t have to cover again. “I’ve learned that. I’ve changed,” we might say, as if it’s all in the past.

While we do build on what we learn and there is the process of maturity, it would be more accurate to say that we are learning and we are changing.

It would serve us well to recognize that we are prone to losing our footing on this pilgrimage. There is the constant threat of falling - the spiritual equivalent of inclement weather, enemies of our soul, our own sins, or temptations that lure us away.

We stop gaining ground in subtle ways at first, trusting in our own wisdom, living on our own strength, operating out of our own sense of right-ness. But those subtle missteps get us out of step with the Lord.

It isn’t a reset button that we press to set us back on course. The beautiful answer whenever we find ourselves off the path, depleted, facing the consequences of our own choices, at a loss and alone, is to look to Him. Arms ever open wide, the Lord welcomes us, forgives us, sets our feet on solid ground and continues the journey with us. When we come to Him, we’ll have found that He has integrated our failures into a deeper understanding of his goodness and grace.

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