When All Else Fails

Driving home today, I passed a small church. I enjoy reading the signs posted outside of churches, some comical some reverent. My favorite, I think, of all time read "Church: It'll scare the Hell out of you".

This church's sign struck me today. It read "When all else fails, try Jesus." At first glance, a great sentiment: when the world lets you down, Jesus is there. But should we really wait until everything else has failed before we turn to Christ for the answers? I think a better sign would read "All else will let you down, stay with Jesus." Christ should not be our safety net, our fall back plan, when our own devices and schemes have blown up in our faces. He is indeed that, because as sinners, we tend to come running back asking for help after we have blown it. We have made Him that. Rather than commanding a place as the trapeze that we leap out in faith and cling tightly to, Jesus has sadly become nothing more than the net that keeps us from the death we deserve when we try to find another way to the other side of the platform.

ζητειτε δε πρωτον την βασιλειαν του θεου και την δικαιοσυνην αυτου και ταυτα παντα προστεθησεται υμιν. Matthew 6.33

We ought first to cling to Jesus. There will be no failure from Christ. This world will perpetually let us down. Again and again. Christ will never fail us. Seek Him first.