Stepping or Stumbling?

Stepping Stone or Stumbling Block?

Our younger son and his wife bought an older, fixer-upper home when they moved to southern Mississippi to establish his medical practice.  Teasingly, they called it the Brady house, after the television show The Brady Bunch with bold wallpaper, a wooden staircase, and lots of windows.  They did extensive renovations before moving in and have continued to update the interior.

One thing they haven’t yet completed, however, is the work on the outside.  The lovely, wraparound porch has brick steps leading up to the porch.  Several of the bricks have broken away, however, and are wobbly.  The children navigate them fine.  I, on the other hand, am very cautious of those bricks, having fallen at home about fourteen years ago and shattered my ankle, as well as breaking both bones in my leg.  Needless to say, I always eye those loose bricks with skepticism, wondering if they will help me up to the porch or keep me from making it to the porch.

My dad always said that people were one of two types:  Stepping stones to Jesus or stumbling blocks to Jesus.  They would either help others get to Jesus, or they would make it more difficult for them to get to Jesus.  One of my favorite New Testament stories is found in Luke 15:11-32, about the prodigal son who demanded his inheritance from his dad, squandered it all in low living, and who finally saw the error of his ways and went home.  In the meantime, his older brother stayed at home and, seemingly, did the right thing. Every day, the father watched for his younger son, hoping and praying that he would return home.

One day, as the father watched the road, he saw a thin, ragged figure heading towards the house.  Immediately, the father recognized that son who had been away for so long.  The son asked for forgiveness, and the father rejoiced at his return.  Ah, but the older brother was angry at the father’s forgiveness and restoration of the younger brother, and he complained to his father.  Lovingly, the father explained that the older son had always been there, enjoying the benefits of the father’s love and generosity.  He asked him to be happy that his brother who was lost to them was now found.

I’ve often wondered if the prodigal son would have ever made it to his father if he had encountered his older brother en route to his father.  Would the older brother have become a stumbling block, lecturing his brother on his unworthiness, or would he have welcomed his brother home and become a stepping stone to their father?

May God use me as a solid, secure stepping stone for others looking to find their way to the Father.  May I never wobble or place others in danger by being a shaky footing or stumbling block to anyone.  May I love my Father enough to want everyone around me to know Him and experience His love as much as I.

© 2011 Gerry Sisk

(08/10/11)