Climbing the Ladder

Recently I believe the Lord gave me an analogy using the rungs of a ladder that illustrates the

difference between Biblical theory and practice. The first rung of the ladder represents those Christians (real or alleged) who neither care nor know what the Bible says about any given theme or question. I will never forget the honest man who said, “I don't care what the Bible says as long as God loves me.” The second rung represents those who have some idea of what the Bible may say about something but for whom it makes no difference because there are other criteria (feelings, past experience, secular psychology, corporate business practice to name a few that I have run into)that determine their decisions. The third rung is for those who may be influenced by what the Bible says but have never studied for themselves to know what it teaches. After decades of interaction with Christians I believe that most fall into one of these three categories. The fourth rung is for those few who do care, know what the Bible says, and do their best to practice it on a personal level. The fifth rung are those who care, know, practice, and by the grace of God attempt to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) to others. Sadly those who stand for the truth are likely to be persecuted by those who don't. May we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, climb the ladder.