“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been perfected, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12 BSB)
Born prematurely, little Wilma wasn’t expected to survive her first month of life. Then, she fell victim to infantile paralysis due to polio at age four and wasn’t expected to ever be able to walk again. Afterward, she had to wear a brace on her severely twisted left leg. Learning to walk again was hampered by bouts of double pneumonia and scarlet fever.
But, learn to walk she did. She wore the brace on her leg until she was nine and then she decided she wanted to learn to walk without the brace. With the aid of an orthopedic shoe and lots of determination she learned to walk without the brace. After three more years, she didn’t need the special shoe either. Then, she decided she wanted to learn to run. Eight years later, Wilma Rudolph sprinted her way to three gold medals in the 1960 Olympic Games.
The goal of the Christian life is to be like Christ (Ph. 3:9-11). We may never be perfect at it in this life but we can always make progress. For Wilma Rudolph the first step to becoming an Olympian was learning how to take her first step. She needed the help of a brace and the support of a loving family to do so.
We need to brace each other up as we are learning to walk in Christ. Sometimes, we will stumble. Sometimes, we will falter. But, let’s never give up. And, let’s never give up on one another. Christ laid hold of us so that we could win the prize of being like Him. If we don’t quit the race, we will one day lay hold of that prize in perfection (Ph. 1:6, 1Jn. 3:2). Until then, we can always make progress, one step at a time.
© Paul R Downing. Daybreak Devotions.