When Your World Topples

The blue scooter under his chubby two-year-old toes gives way to the cement step under him, sending him toppling to the sidewalk.  A brief hesitation to understand his surroundings, and then the wails cry out and the tears fall.  His sister rushes to his side, picks him up and brushes him off.  Once upright, her gentle words come.  “It’s ok brother, you’re ok. Want a hug brother?”  The older brother ran to the scene too, and set to work, righting the scooter and setting it on a straight course. 

I catch this all from behind the screen door, them unaware of my presence.  Immediately I recognize it – this is how we should act as brothers and sisters in Christ. 

When someone falls among us, the sisters should rush in with a double dose of compassion and care.  They set to cleaning the wounds, and applying dressings with ointment to soothe the pain.  The brothers find where the path went wrong, and set the course of the person back to center – they analyze the environment, suggesting routes that might ensure a better chance at success next time. 

The two year old brushes his tears off his cheeks, boards his scooter and tries again…….and we, the broken and fallen in Christ, try again too.