| “Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” |
| —Psalm 119:165 |
One of the more famous loss-of-life fires in U.S. history occurred in Boston, MA, on November 28, 1942, at the premier nightclub known as the Cocoanut Grove. A total of 492 people perished in this horrible tragedy. As with most large loss-of-life fires, fire protection engineers recognize that the consequences of this fire were both predictable and totally preventable.
Among the many fire protection problems of this facility that impacted the fire related to the exit passageway. During the panic that occurred immediately upon people realizing a fire was in progress, individuals trying to escape stumbled, fell, and became tripping hazards for other people trying to leave the building. Soon the exit was plugged with squirming bodies.
In designing modern buildings that will comply with the International Building Code, fire protection engineers make certain that the pathways throughout a building will remain stumble-free. In an emergency, this will allow people to escape without the danger of tripping and blocking the exit passageway.
In our spiritual lives, we have to be alert for the enticements of sin that might cause us to stumble and fall in our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. While He is always willing to reach down and help us back on our feet, it is far better if we don’t trip and fall in the first place.
The Psalmist recognized the importance of having a stumble-free passage to spiritual formation when he wrote these words in Psalm 119:165, speaking to God:
Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.
In our post-crucifixion and post-resurrection world, our obedience to God’s law involves us loving the Lord with all of our four human modalities: heart, soul, mind, and strength. And, with loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. Frankly, we all stumble and fall from time to time. That’s why it is so important to understand that Jesus has already paid the penalty for our sin. Therefore, we can tune our minds and hearts to follow a pathway of obedience, as we receive the enablement of the Holy Spirit to do so.
No one likes to stumble and fall. Fortunately, God’s love can keep us walking the pathway He has laid out for us in a stumble-free manner. And that, dear ones, is good news to cling to as we begin another day.
Based on a blog originally posted on Thursday, September 29, 2016
