Oh, long and dark the stairs I trod,
With stumbling feet to find my God:Gaining a foothold bit by bit,
Then slipping back and losing it:Never progressing, striving still,
With weakening grasp and fainting will,Bleeding to climb to God: while He
Serenely smiled, unnoting me.Then came a certain time when I
Loosened my hold and fell thereby.Down to the lowest step my fall,
As if I had not climbed at all.And while I lay despairing there,
I heard a footfall on the stair,In the same path, where I, dismayed,
Faltered and fell and lay afraid.And lo! when hope had ceased to be,
My God came down the stairs to me.-As quoted in Christian Disciplines
by Oswald Chambers
I first heard this poem from Dr. Michael Vanlaningham while taking his Romans course at Moody Bible Institute 10 years ago. This week, while preparing to preach Ephesians 2:1-10, I was reminded of it again. I remembered portions of the quote and Google’d what I could. I found the quote again at this blog, http://asweetfragrance.com/2010/10/17/my-god-came-down/. It truly is a sweet display of God’s grace to us, while we were at our wits end trying to earn God’s favor by climbing the stairs of good works. We tried and tried, only to find ourselves at the bottom step! We need Him…our God, who came down the stairs to us.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved.” ~Ephesians 2:4
Teaching Children about World Missions
If you’re looking for a good resource that helps you teach children about missions, this is a great one! My friends Jon and Erika Tello from Moody Bible Institute (missionaries now in Italy) have put together this “Hello Kiddos” website that provides “a place where kids and their families can engage with world missions.” This website has great resources, stats, and links that will walk you through ways to teach your kids about world missions. My prayer is that the Lord would use websites and resources like this to raise up a bold generation of sold out missionaries.
