Crutch

NRSV 1:1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3 He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word…8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.

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Scepter’s not a common word today so that caught my attention.  A scepter is an ornamented staff often used by kings as visual evidence of power but the word also has a practical meaning as something one can lean on for support.

You may have heard a negative description of faith as being a “crutch” as I have.  Your reaction may have been as defensive as mine was so it was back to the dictionary for another definition – crutch: a long stick with a crosspiece at the top, used as a support under the armpit by a lame person.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard your faith referred to as a crutch.  Raise your hand if you’ve ever been confronted by your own need for support.  My heart still has a negative reaction to identifying my faith as a crutch but the reality is my hand is in the air.

My heart and my hand respond today to God’s own words identifying his Scepter: “But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.”  My heart and my hand have responded to His Son.  Jesus is the righteous scepter God provided for the support of His own Kingdom and for each of us to personally lean on.   All you have to do is admit to being lame.  I’m in God’s Kingdom because of the provision of that righteous scepter, His Son, “the exact imprint of God’s very being,” being the “crutch” that held me up so I could limp into it.