Snatched!

And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. (John 10:28)

Except for when I let them snatch me.

How easily I let myself be snatched. It doesn't take much. And then I'm lifted out of Your hand. But I can still see You, so I know You'll keep an eye on me. Right?

And even as I get further away, I can still see You, which means You can still see me. Right? Except that it's getting a little colder the further away from You I get. And now it's getting foggier and the view is getting dimmer. Jesus, I can still see You, and I know that You can still see me.

But now I can barely hear You, and other voices are adding to the already cascading din. Why won't You bring me back? Whatever it is that I let snatch me from Your hand has a powerful grip on me. Well, actually, it's the other way around: I'm holding on for dear life. If I fall now that I'm so high up....

I look and I can barely see You, although I know You see me. Now the flight is becoming bumpy and I'm running into things out here in the darkness. I can't believe I did it again! I can't believe I let myself be snatched from Your hand. Again! I can take some solace in knowing that I'm not the first and won't be the last; Your Word is filled with stories of people who let themselves be snatched from Your hand and yet, every time and without fail, You caught them when they fell back to you.

Guess I oughta let gravity take it's course. And so I fall. Hoping that You will catch me. Yet You always do; why should I doubt that this time will be any different? Because it feels as though I'm taking advantage of Your grace and mercy. Because I can't hide my sin from You. Because I barely trust myself; how can I trust anyone else, even You?

The fall is painful. The same bumps and obstacles that I hit on the way up are there for me to run into again. But as I fall, I see Your face. I see Your outstretched hand. I can hear You again. And one last pinch of shame asks why I continue to leave You on a regular basis, and why after all these years, You continue to catch me?

Thanks and praise be to You, Jesus, that your love is infinite, unending, and patient; that You would love a repeat offender like me enough to catch me every time I let myself be snatched. This is what You mean: no one snatches me from Your hand because You are there to catch us when we fall, when we finally let go and say "Lord, I did it again! Catch me!"

In Him and around the corner (and still going round and round),
Al