(Rom 3:23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Do you remember when you first had conviction that you were a sinner and that you fell short of the glory of God? It’s like the kid at Disneyland when he measured himself up to the line on the sign and found he wasn’t tall enough to go on the ride. But God sent Christ to die on the cross and now we measure up. What a great feeling! We’re in . . . and enjoying the greatest thrill on earth and that which will last for all of eternity.
But then we find out that we’re still sinners. Saved sinners, but sinners nevertheless. We still fall short of the glory of God. We try to give our all for the call but quickly fall. And in falling we are humbled by the fact that we are wearing a tilted halo. But then we discover grace! It’s God’s unmerited favor that puts hope and joy back into our Christian life. We confess our sins and we are cleansed anew (1 John 1:9; Rom 8:1).
So, then our fellow soldier of the Lord falls. He is struggling. Do we condemn? Do we rebuke? No, we remember. We recall our falling short and then reach out to our brother and see what we can do to help restore his life (Gal 6:1). Hey look, he’s got a tilted halo too!
Sometimes we get a little smug and self-righteous about how good we’re doing in the Christian life. Dangerous! (1 Cor 10:12) Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. What do we do? Keep looking in the mirror and smile that you are under God’s grace, though you wear a titled halo!
Louie