The Prayer of St. Patrick: Christ behind me, Christ before me
"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”" -Isaiah 30:21
My Aunt tells me she walks behind me sometimes because I'm her child, and she has to keep her eye on me, and watch me even at 21. Really anywhere you go in public you will see the kids in front of the parents, and it's because 1 the kids have already run ahead in excitement, and 2 the parents watch their children to make sure they are okay. Or sometimes you will see one parent in front and another in the back with the kids in between. This is how it is with Jesus and his children (us).
On this journey of life on the narrow road it gets hard. Jesus said that "the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it." (Matt.7:14) There are several reasons He is both behind and before us. When we are behind he encourages us when we lag, and he motivates us when we are weary, He also guards us. He is a God who protects us, our shield, and defense, to hide those who are seeking escape from the enemy. One of the most moving images of one who walks behind is the story of Simon, the man who carried Jesus' cross. He was recruited to help bear one of heaviest burdens in history! Simon becomes another figure of Christ, who, when he asks us to take up our crosses and follow Him, promises to walk behind us as Simon did, and lighten the weight.
David says it so beautifully in Psalm 139:5 "You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head." Behind us, he watches and protects, he waits for us to find our way, he prompts and directs, and he carries the heaviest part of the crosses we may think we carry alone. He leave no one behind, he waits in divine patience for the strength that will come as we grow in the Spirit to the point when we can run and not be weary, and when we mount up with wings like eagles, on His strength and in His good time, He will be there, moving the currents that will bear us heavenward.
Wherever we may go, God was there first and is waiting for us. There is no where we can go where we are unobserved, unprotected, or unanticipated. There is never a situation that Christ doesn't know intimately, or personally because he's been there before me. Lysa TerKeurst president of Proverbs 31 Ministries here in Charlotte put it in these terms, "He came to save us but spent His first 30 years living in the trenches of everyday life. Can you imagine what patience and humility that took? To live for 30 years swallowing the reality that you are the King of Kings doing chores, getting along with your brother, learning the art of carpentry, and figuring out what’s for dinner it really is amazing. He could have just appeared as an adult and started preaching His messages.
But He didn’t. He started at infancy identifying with us. Then, He started at 30 inspiring us. Him identifying with us made His inspiration more real, more authentic, more touchable." He is the one who goes before us preparing the way, assessing the difficulties ahead, he leads us "by the still waters" as David says in the 23rd Psalm. Wherever we seek Him, we will find Him standing before us who went before us to prepare a place, who stands before us to summon us into communion, and who walks before us to lead us home. As the David says again in Psalm 26:3 "For Your loving kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth."
My Aunt tells me she walks behind me sometimes because I'm her child, and she has to keep her eye on me, and watch me even at 21. Really anywhere you go in public you will see the kids in front of the parents, and it's because 1 the kids have already run ahead in excitement, and 2 the parents watch their children to make sure they are okay. Or sometimes you will see one parent in front and another in the back with the kids in between. This is how it is with Jesus and his children (us).
On this journey of life on the narrow road it gets hard. Jesus said that "the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it." (Matt.7:14) There are several reasons He is both behind and before us. When we are behind he encourages us when we lag, and he motivates us when we are weary, He also guards us. He is a God who protects us, our shield, and defense, to hide those who are seeking escape from the enemy. One of the most moving images of one who walks behind is the story of Simon, the man who carried Jesus' cross. He was recruited to help bear one of heaviest burdens in history! Simon becomes another figure of Christ, who, when he asks us to take up our crosses and follow Him, promises to walk behind us as Simon did, and lighten the weight.
David says it so beautifully in Psalm 139:5 "You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head." Behind us, he watches and protects, he waits for us to find our way, he prompts and directs, and he carries the heaviest part of the crosses we may think we carry alone. He leave no one behind, he waits in divine patience for the strength that will come as we grow in the Spirit to the point when we can run and not be weary, and when we mount up with wings like eagles, on His strength and in His good time, He will be there, moving the currents that will bear us heavenward.
Wherever we may go, God was there first and is waiting for us. There is no where we can go where we are unobserved, unprotected, or unanticipated. There is never a situation that Christ doesn't know intimately, or personally because he's been there before me. Lysa TerKeurst president of Proverbs 31 Ministries here in Charlotte put it in these terms, "He came to save us but spent His first 30 years living in the trenches of everyday life. Can you imagine what patience and humility that took? To live for 30 years swallowing the reality that you are the King of Kings doing chores, getting along with your brother, learning the art of carpentry, and figuring out what’s for dinner it really is amazing. He could have just appeared as an adult and started preaching His messages.
But He didn’t. He started at infancy identifying with us. Then, He started at 30 inspiring us. Him identifying with us made His inspiration more real, more authentic, more touchable." He is the one who goes before us preparing the way, assessing the difficulties ahead, he leads us "by the still waters" as David says in the 23rd Psalm. Wherever we seek Him, we will find Him standing before us who went before us to prepare a place, who stands before us to summon us into communion, and who walks before us to lead us home. As the David says again in Psalm 26:3 "For Your loving kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth."
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