There are two scenes in the movie Batman Begins that really stand out to me. In the first scene, the young Bruce Wayne falls down an old well and breaks his arm. In the conversation following Bruce's rescue from the well by his father, his father says to him, "Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up." In the second scene, Bruce, now college-aged and still struggling with anger and bitterness from his parent's murder, has a heated discussion with the butler Alfred. At the conclusion of the argument, Bruce says to Alfred, "You still haven't given up on me," to which Alfred passionately replies, "Never!" I believe there are two significant spiritual truths about the character of God we can draw from these scenes. First of all, as Christians, we do fall in our walk with God. As long as we live in these earthly bodies, we will struggle with sin and we will fail. Here's the kicker though: Not only has God redeemed us from our sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (see Romans 6), He can redeem our falls so that we can learn from our mistakes, pick ourselves up again, and move forward with a clean slate in His strength. Secondly, God will never give up on us. No matter how much we fall, no matter how unfaithful we are, He is still faithful to us. Of course, God is not content to leave us in the well, so He will relentlessly pursue us with His abounding love, grace, and mercy and rescue us from the well of our own sin and failure. Psalm 40:1-2 says, "I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand." Psalm 57:10 says, "For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies." Again, in Psalm 86:15 it says, "But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." Psalm 100:5 says, "For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." When it seems like you're falling more than you're walking, or when the struggles of the Christian life have utterly discouraged you, remember these two truths: Our spiritual falls are an opportunity for God to pick us up in His tender arms, clean the mud off of us, and send us on a new path with a fresh start. Embrace Him and let Him teach you from your mistakes, and then rely fully upon Him for the strength to walk! Secondly, God is faithful and He will never, ever, ever, give up on you. No matter how many times we fall, He still loves us and He will always be there for us. Like the father of the prodigal son, God is running to meet you with open arms and a loving embrace!
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