Stumbling

Little Alana was so enamored by the 
baby in the mirror! We could hardly
pull her away. 

Scripture:

Rom. 9:30    What then are we to say? Gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; ³¹ but Israel, who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law, did not succeed in fulfilling that law. ³² Why not? Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written,

“See, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall,

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Observation:

Suddenly Paul’s conversation shifts to one about faith. None of us are deserving of righteousness, and there is nothing that we can do to earn this righteousness either. By trying too hard, Israelites were stumbling. Their over-zealous desire to follow the law took their eyes away from Yahweh, the one who had given them the law. The rules became more important than the reasons behind them, or the relationship with the rule-giver. That’s where faith comes in. Faith is trusting in the One who brings the rules, but by not seeking the face of God, they stumbled over the cornerstone. 

Application:

One of the biggest trends these days is taking “selfies.” However, the result of taking selfies, is the potential to stumble. Wikipedia tells us:

The United States Department of Transportation estimated that in 2014, the so-called "year of the selfie", 33,000 people were injured while driving and using a cell-phone in some fashion, which can include talking, listening, and "manual button/control actuation". A 2015 survey by Erie Insurance Group found that 4% of all drivers admitted to taking selfies while driving.

Taking selfies while driving?! Where is that going to lead us? The data is lagging, but from 2008-2021, there are 359 recorded deaths which occurred while people were taking selfies. Talk about stumbling — this is stumbling to your death, and sometimes it occurred while the individual was live-streaming. 

As our world and culture embraces secular humanism, it’s as if we have lifted up a giant camera and focused it on ourselves. The view of the rest of the world is obliterated by the camera in front of our faces. We can no longer see the face of our Creator, for all we want to see is  a better picture of ourself. And we will stumble. 

Paul wasn’t talking about selfies, but he was talking about the written law which became so important to the Jews that it obscured their vision of the coming Messiah. They absolutely could not see him because they were too busy keeping the rules in front of their faces, and the faces of those within their communities. They constantly challenged their people to be keeping the rules, and they stumbled. 

What might we stumble on today? Maybe we need to examine our lives, hearts and minds, and determine whether there is anything blocking our relationship with Christ — or quite possibly becoming a stumbling block to others. 

Prayer:

Lord, I think it’s easier to become a stumbling block than we might imagine. Help me to live by faith, seeking your face every day. Amen.