“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”
1 Corinthians 10:12 NIV
“You go first.”
“No, you go first.”
“Hey, you’re the oldest. You go first!”
With that, the oldest cousin carefully rounded the old banister post and stepped onto the narrow ledge. One misstep would land the ledge-walker on the steep and worn wooden stairway below.
We held our breath as she clutched the railing and step-slid her feet across the ten-foot length of the ledge. The ledge took a sharp left turn at the end where the railing connected to the wall positioning our brave cousin over the most extreme drop of her journey.
After touching the wall, she began her return trip moving with a bit more speed and confidence. Reaching the banister post, she swung onto the stairway landing and into the safety of the hallway. The cousins mingled their whispered cheers for the ledge-conquering hero with quiet cries of “Me next!”
Of course, our parents and grandparents (who were sitting around the dining table on the other side of the closed door at the foot of the stairway) had forbidden us from playing on the stairs or climbing over the banister railing. Technically, we did not crawl over the railing.
This scenario played out numerous times over the years, the only variation being which cousins happened to be visiting my grandparents’ farm at the time.
There were rare occasions when someone panicked mid-ledge-walk forcing us to call for a parental rescue because we couldn’t pull the ledge-walker over the rail and back to safety. Those rescues always came with a stern lecture and instructions to “not play on or around the stairs!”
Miraculously, there were no serious accidents or injuries during our ledge-walking adventures.
What is it about “ledges” that make them so appealing even when we are children?
- The excitement of danger?
- The idea of doing that which is forbidden?
- The fear of missing out on something fun, cool, or special?
- The desire to test our limits and vulnerabilities?
- Or is it the need to prove that we are in control?
I’m reminded of King David, the man after God’s own heart. The mighty King who stayed home when it was “the time when kings go out to battle” (2 Samuel 11:1). As David walked the roof of his palace, he saw a beautiful woman bathing on her roof. Instead of stepping back, David stepped forward and then he leaned closer to the edge to get a better look.
When David decided to send for the woman, who he had learned was the wife of one of his most trusted warriors, Uriah the Hittite, David was walking the ledge.
He had figuratively stepped from the safety of the rooftop, over the protective railing, and onto the ledge. David trusted himself. He thought he was in control. He knew that what he was doing was wrong, but he convinced himself that no one would ever know.
He thought he could rebel against God and get away with his sin. He thought he could manage his time on the ledge without consequences.
David may have given thought to his decision before stepping onto the ledge, but Scripture and history tell us that David’s thinking was so very wrong. (2 Samuel 11,12)
Even though David repented of his sins, the consequences of his time on the ledge impacted his family throughout multiple generations.
Many years before David, there was another young man who was invited to step out on the ledge.
In Genesis 37-49, you can read the remarkable story of the life of Joseph. From favored son status to a hated brother who was sold by his brothers into slavery, to a trusted servant who was wrongly imprisoned where he became an interpreter of dreams, then a restored man, a powerful ruler, and finally a reunited son. His is a remarkable story of God’s providential hand in his life and in preserving the nation of Israel.
But there was one pivotal event in Joseph’s life that greatly impacted the way that God chose to use Joseph. As the chief servant and house manager for Potiphar who was the captain of the guard, Joseph caught the eye of Potiphar’s wife. She persistently pursued Joseph, repeatedly inviting the handsome young servant to step over the railing and onto the ledge to commit adultery with her.
Joseph faithfully refused to go ledge-walking with Potiphar’s wife, and in the end, Joseph was falsely accused and imprisoned.
While in prison God prepared Joseph, his faithful servant, for his next assignment as second in command of the mighty nation of Egypt.
Would God have used Joseph as He did, if Joseph had decided to step out on the ledge to be with Potiphar’s wife?
Regardless of Joseph’s actions, God’s will would have been accomplished and the nation of Israel would have been preserved, but how would Joseph’s own story have ended? Thankfully, we will never know.
I confess there have been times in my life when I rebelliously climbed over the railing and walked precariously on the ledge.
Praise God for His long-suffering mercy and grace that He did not allow me to plunge from the ledge to unknown depths of darkness. Those “sins of the ledge” have all been confessed, I’ve repented, and praise His glorious Name, I am forgiven.
As I look back, I wonder how my story was changed because of my time on the ledge – those days that I walked in disobedience, willfulness, and rebellion. I wonder whose lives I should have touched that I didn’t. I wonder how God might have used me if I had been fully surrendered. Those “wonderings” break my heart.
And then, God’s Holy Spirit reminds me of His long-suffering patience with me, His goodness towards me, and His endless love for me, His child.
God is not only willing…He has promised to forgive, restore, and wash us anew. Our Lord God is the Eternal Promise Keeper. God’s promise to Israel extends to you and me today:
Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.
Isaiah 44:21-22 ESV
Where are you standing today, friend?
Are you like David? Are you leaning over the railing, seriously considering stepping out onto the ledge?
Perhaps you are already step-sliding along a narrow ledge. Each step becomes more precarious. Every movement threatens to pull you off the ledge altogether.
Or are you like Joseph? Are you ready to throw off whatever has a hold on you? Are you willing to abandon whatever it is that is trying to pull you onto the ledge?
But one day, when he [Joseph] went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she [Potiphar’s wife] caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house.
Genesis 39:11-12 ESV
Joseph turned and ran away from that which would have pulled him onto the ledge.
Will you?
…Do not lose sight of these– keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul….. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. For the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.
Proverbs 3:21-24, 26 ESV
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 ESV