Following The Lord

This Easter Sunday I was leading my youngest daughter by the hand while she had her eyes closed. Why? The gym we were walking through was filled with eggs for an Easter egg hunt, and she wasn’t supposed to see them yet. But as we walked, and she faithfully followed my lead, it occurred to me what a remarkable simile it would make for our own walk with the Lord.

Eyes closed, hand in mine, she listened and obeyed everything that I told her to do; a child-like trust the Lord wants from us when He leads believers through the warzone of this life. She couldn't see where she was going, but I could. I knew our destination, but she did not. She did not see the obstacles in her path, but I skirted her around them or removed them for her. I’m sure it is easy to see at this point what I’m getting at with this illustration. Our walk is not meant to be by sight, but by faith. And that faith, as it is defined by Scripture, is not nebulous. Faith, by itself, is useless. It is the object of one’s faith, not the sheer amount of it, that matters. It is quality over quantity. Jesus told us that faith as little as a mustard seed could remove mountains. But He was not referring to the faith itself; no, we are directed to the object of said faith: the true God of Heaven and earth and the Creator of the universe and humanity.

All the faith in the world, wrongly directed or anchored, is useless. Faith in and of itself is equally useless. Faith is a vehicle, not a destination. It is a lifeline, secured to a steadfast anchor that holds the faithful in place when the tempests of life beat upon our heads. The faith my daughter manifested was visible to anyone else that was watching at the time. They saw her, hand in my hand, willingly and comfortably permitting me to lead her through a place she could not see, not even so far as to where her next step would be. But she walked anyway. Why? Because she trusted me to safely guide her and protect her until we reached our destination. In her case it was the stairs opposite the gym. In our case, it is this life in its totality, with all of its pitfalls, trials, temptations, and hardships.

Jesus desires for all Christians to cultivate a child-like faith, and when we have children of our own, moments such as this one demonstrate precisely what our Lord meant when He said it. Young children believe in the wisdom, guidance and strength of their parents. Now, I won’t strain this illustration any further because we all know the fallibility, limits and sinfulness the human soul harbors. Parents can–and sometimes do–let their children down and lead them in wrong ways. But unlike you and I, who are capable of perverting a child’s trust, God is not such a Father. He is incapable of error, sin, or misdirection. Jesus our Lord seeks to have our own faith manifest in a simple, comfortable act of submission as we place our hand in His and permit Him to lead us into all truth and through life’s perils. Jesus our Lord warned us that this life would visit tribulations upon us. But in that same breath He assured us that the world, and all of the pain and confusion it can engender, has already been defeated by Him. 

Our walk with the Lord is something of a victory march; we are refugees taken out of the enemy camp by the sacrifice of God who became a Man to die in our stead. Having died for our sins, He rose again from the dead, defeating sin and death and showing to us as proof positive that the Father has accepted the Son’s offering for humanity. Now He leads all of us in victory, a victory He wrought by Himself, but one that all who have been set free may partake in the spoils of. God told Israel that they would trample the wicked under their feet, for they would already be defeated by the Lord. Through Paul He told us that Satan himself would be trampled beneath our feet shortly. Christ, our risen Savior presents victory in all of its purity: a victory over sin and death that no amount of human effort can achieve apart from Him.

Jesus suffered on the cross alone, bearing our sin in our place. He was the sinless Lamb of God, sent to take away the sin of the world. The world, of course, means all of humanity, past, present and future. But it means more than that. Once we are saved our sin is taken away. The sins we commit after we have been saved (and we will still sin) are likewise already charged to Christ’s account. He paid for the sins we have yet to commit when He died on the cross on our behalf. He died to sin, so that we may live for and through Him. He imparts a righteousness that only He possesses natively, and through which man may enter Heaven and God’s presence. It is the only righteousness God accepts, because it (like its giver) is perfect righteousness. Praise the Lord for His great mercy! Today, as we remember the glory of the resurrection, let us worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, a holiness that belongs uniquely to God, but one that He was gracious enough to share with sinful humanity. Happy Resurrection Day, everyone! Amen.