Devotion:Crutch or Life Support System?

Crutch or Life Support System?

Mark 2:17 (NKJV) When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

I was very blessed by an excerpt from a sermon that a friend posted in an email group I subscribe to. I would like to share it with you this week. The author is David B. Curtis of Berean Bible Church in Virginia.

Have you ever heard the expression, "Christianity is a crutch for people who can't make it on their own"? What do you think of that, is it true? I would say, "Absolutely!"

Let me ask you another question, "Why is the thought that Christianity is a crutch considered to be a bad thing?" People don't usually look at a crutch and say, "That's bad. It's just a crutch." People don't in general think that crutches are bad things. Why does a crutch become a bad thing when it's Christianity?

I think the reason that the thought of Christianity being a crutch is considered a bad thing is because if Christianity is a crutch, then it's only good for cripples. But we don't like to see ourselves as cripples. And so it is offensive to our self-sufficiency to label Christianity as a "crutch."

Notice what Jesus said:

Mark 2:17 (NKJV) When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

In other words, the only people who will ever come to get what Jesus has to give are sick people, people who know that they are spiritually and morally crippled.

Why is the thought that Christianity is a crutch considered a bad thing? It is considered bad, because we don't want to see ourselves as cripples. We believe that real joy and fulfillment in life are to be found in the pursuit of self-reliance, self-confidence, self-determination, and self-esteem.

Any Savior who comes along and proposes to replace self-reliance with childlike God-reliance, and self-confidence with submissive God-confidence, and self-determination with sovereign grace, and self-esteem with magnificent mercy for the unworthy - that Savior is going to be a threat to the religion of self-admiration. Our Savior takes the disease that we hate most; namely, helplessness, and instead of curing it, makes it the doorway to heaven - Blessed are the spiritually bankrupt, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

R.C. Sproul said he was once told that Christianity was just a crutch, to which he responded, "It's not only a crutch---it's my life support system!"

I have to agree whole-heartedly with both these men. Without faith in Jesus Christ, I would be headed for eternal death in Hell at best. Without faith in Jesus Christ, I would not be able to keep on keeping on in the face of so many physical and emotional trials that have assaulted me in the last several years. True Christianity IS my life support system.

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