Perceptions #200028

"I Might Fall"

by Joseph E. Rountree

Recently as I was leaving the evening service of a congregation I was visiting, I paused just outside the front door. I heard a small voice near me and looking down I saw a little boy, perhaps three years old. I did not know the child nor had I ever seen him before to the best of my knowledge. But there he stood looking wistfully up at me. Then he stretched forth his little hand and said simply, "I might fall." Seeing that the steps down to the sidewalk were quite steep, I quickly realized what he meant and I clasped his hand and led him safely down to the sidewalk.

A trivia incident? Perhaps. But one with a more powerful lesson and admonition to Christians. This little boy had foresight. He could see danger in the treacherous steps before him. He realized that he might fall if he set out alone. He sought a comforting hand to guide him over a difficult way. He had faith. He had trust.

Would that we as Christians could realize that the path of life is rocky; the way to Heaven is strait and narrow. We might fall. Great men of God have fallen before us. Remember that Peter, the great Apostle, fell when he denied his Lord three times. With had outstretched our God stands ready to help us. If we will only place our hand in his, He will lead us gently over life's uneven pathway. Should we lose our grasp and fall, He stands ready to lift us up. We must have faith in Him. We must trust Him. We must walk hand in hand with Him; we dare not take a single step alone.

The sixth verse of the eleventh chapter of Isaiah ends, "...and a little child shall lead them." The little boy's simple but powerful lesson will not soon be forgotten. When I am tempted to become overconfident or self-righteous, I will recall his small voice saying, "I might fall."

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