September 16

Written by Bill Grandi on September 16th, 2019

My title for this devotion is a Crutch vs a Necessity.

We recently had a young lady who had knee surgery to repair a torn ACL along with a torn meniscus. Her initial injury-the ACL- came from sports.  Following that injury her knee swelled up like a balloon, leading the doctors to put her on crutches until the swelling went down. She was not to put any pressure on it. Eventually as she did some rehab she was able to ditch the crutches. Then one day she stumbled and fell which was where her torn meniscus was from. She finally had surgery and guess what came out of mothballs? You guessed it-the crutches. She is now walking but has her knee is a fancy brace designed to stop injury.

There are times a crutch is seen as necessary. There are also times we use the word “crutch” to describe someone who leans on something. Only it is not seen as a good thing.

There are some who see faith in Jesus as a crutch. How many times have you heard or read someone say, “Religion is a crutch.” They see it as a weakness, as something to lean on because one can’t handle life. Tell that to the follower of Christ who loses his/her job because of their faith and refusal to compromise. Tell that to the follower of Christ in Nigeria, or India, or another country where persecution for their faith is punishable by torture, prison, or even death. A crutch? I don’t think so. Not when doing so leads to who knows where.

Faith in Jesus is not a crutch; it is a necessity. It is my lifeblood. In Matthew 16 Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was. Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Elsewhere Peter stated, “Where else shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Peter’s words and eventual stand which led to his death were life-changing words for him. Jesus was not a crutch; He was life. Is he that to me? To you?

“Father, help me to cling to You. Help me to know You, not as my crutch for weakness, but as my strength of necessity.”

 

6 Comments so far ↓

  1. Yes, He is my strength of necessity! Hallelujah!

  2. Jesus IS life to me, too, Bill! Great illustration today, my friend.
    Blessings!

  3. floyd says:

    Well defended! Indeed! Real Christians standing up even in the face of death. The ones who think they’re enlightened are blind. May God open their hearts and minds.

    • Bill Grandi says:

      I pray i will be able to be strong when called upon and have an open heart and mind. Thanks Floyd.