Crosses, Crutches, & Walking with Christ

Is Christianity a Crutch for the Weak?

I am not exactly sure who originated the saying that Christianity is a crutch for the weak and feeble minded. I initially thought it might have been Nietzsche, but I could be wrong about this. In any case, I have heard ministers of the gospel imply that Christians should embrace this sentiment since among other reasons, St Paul indicated 'when I am weak, then I am strong'. Upon more careful consideration however, I question if we can we truly say Christianity is indeed a crutch. This kind of thinking assumes that after we are justified by faith, God props us up and helps us to "walk" by using the law as a guide for living the Christian life.

The reality is that we all we have a crutch, be it philosophy, psychology, the latest life hacks, self help gurus, our own intellect, etc. Everyone but everyone is trusting in 'something' as a basis for truth or as a lens through which to make sense of reality. Put differently, we all have gods - i.e. whatever gives our lives a sense of meaning, purpose or justification. Consider the New Testament account of the Apostle Paul’s missionary journey through Philippi, a Roman colony and city in the region known as Macedonia. In the pertinent passage, recorded in the book of Acts, we see Paul planting a church after his encounter with a local businesswoman named Lydia in whose home the Philippian church begins.

Shortly after Lydia’s conversion to the faith, a demon possessed slave girl taunts and harasses Paul and his ministry team by sarcastically underscoring the gospel message that proclaims ‘salvation’. Later on, after Paul and his companions are imprisoned and a divinely appointed earthquake facilitates their rescue, the prison warden cries out in terror, “what must I do to be saved?” From where would a demoniac derive the concept of salvation? How did the Philippian jailer who had never heard the gospel message, have known to cry from his inmost depths for salvation? Everyone is seeking some form of salvation.

Consider the Old Testament account of the runaway prophet Jonah whom God sent to deliver a message to a nation that Israel considered one of their fiercest enemies. In his reluctance to embark on his mission, Jonah instead takes a boat ride in the complete opposite direction. When a storm ensues on the sea, every passenger aboard the ship begins to call out to ‘his god’. But, why? Because when the foundation of their reality was shaken, they needed something on which to cling for refuge and support…we all do.

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A crutch is reserved mainly for those in recovery, who anticipate being able to walk independently again. Christians however, are not sick, in need of recovery...we are dead awaiting resurrection. Christianity is not a crutch the weak use to prop themselves up and walk better - it is the amputation of our self sufficient legs, and the gift of Another's gait as our own. Paul proclaims as much in the book of Romans when he contrasts the sin of Adam against the righteousness of Christ,

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

-Romans 5:15 - 19

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Consider the Old Testament patriarch, Jacob, who along with his fathers Abraham and Isaac had received a covenant promise from the Lord. Later in his life, God afflicted Jacob, dislocated his ability to walk, and left him limping the rest of his days. In Genesis 32, we read about a supernatural wrestling match in which Jacob tussled an entire night with a strange ‘man’, who by implication was probably a preincarnate appearance of Jesus.

 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.

-Genesis 32:24, 25

It is worth noting that after crippling Jacob, the Lord did not give him a support to help him improve his strut. After God struck him, He gave him an identity…

Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

-Genesis 32:28

Jacob had spent his life even from the womb living by 'law', i.e. struggling, conniving, and trusting in his own wisdom. During his Divine encounter however, God broke him and gave him Jesus' righteousness instead. The law cannot give us our identity, but grace gives us Christ as our inheritance. Jacob was divinely injured and hobbled the rest of his life...Jesus was “bruised for our iniquities” to become our life. The Word of God never comes to help us walk with God better. Instead, His law comes to break our legs...that, through the gospel, we might remember we are crucified with Christ. For in dying with Him, we have received the righteousness of having walked with God perfectly. So, how’s that limp these days? I hope it’s not improving…because in Christ, your walk couldn’t be any better.