I remember it as if it were yesterday. My father, a school teacher, who always went to school in suit, white shirt, tie, and a white handkerchief in the left top pocket of his suit coat, came home and announced it was time for me to learn to ride a bicycle. I was so excited as I climbed aboard my sister’s bike and off we went with him running behind. It was elation beyond words as the wind blew through my hair. These were the days before helmets and knee and elbow pads. This was blood sport and I did not disappoint. I looked back over my shoulder, a big mistake. He knelt down beside me and took the white handkerchief from his suit coat pocket and wiped off the gravel and blood. And then he said to me, “Good job. Look how far you came.”
I did not stop being his son because I fell down. Neither do we stop being part of God’s family when we fail. Quickly He comes to our side and with the white robe of Jesus’ righteousness He wipes us clean and says to us, “Good job. Look how far you have come.”
The Christian walk is not about being perfect. It is about falling, being wiped clean and getting up for another try. It is about going farther between falls. And sometimes the falls are spectacular but that just makes getting up so much more courageous. It is true Jesus said to the woman taken in adultery to go and sin no more. We must never forget He also said, “Neither do I condemn you.”
Happy riding. Go far.
Written by Roger Bothwell on June 10, 2015
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org