God’s Grace Catches Us in Our Fall

As a young teenager in Germany, Carl Wallenda was forced to support his family. With no trade to fall upon and no job available, he turned to the high wire and there achieved remarkable success.

Carl was able to persuade his wife, children, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and ultimately some grandchildren to walk the high wire. They came to be known as “The Great Wallendas.”

They created their incredible human pyramid. Four men walked the wire with three more men standing on poles mounted to the walkers’ shoulders. On top of those men sat a woman on a chair. Incredibly, they performed without a net.

Unfortunately, one evening in Detroit a key person in the pyramid lost his balance. Horror filled the hearts of those in the audience.

Dieter Wallenda’s knees became weak and began to buckle under the phenomenal weight. His balancing pole swayed, and suddenly the crowd heard his terrified cry, “I can’t hold it any longer!”

The entire pyramid collapsed. Many artists were thrown to the floor. Two died. Mario, the oldest son, was paralyzed from his waist down.

This is a tragic picture of what occurs when one person is incapable of supporting his share of the load. There are times in life when the pressure to perform seems overwhelming.

It feels like the eyes of the world are upon us as we attempt to walk the tight rope of righteousness. Our knees begin to buckle under the insurmountable weight of always having to do what is right. We slip and fall into sin.

But unlike the flying Wallendas, we find beneath us the safety net of God’s grace to catch us, cushion us and remind us that righteousness is a gift. It’s not based on our good deeds. We are not expected to perform perfectly every time.

That’s the wonder of the new contract God establishes with us. It’s called “The New Covenant” in 2 Corinthians 3:6, a contract in which we receive grace for all falls and failures.

This grace comes through faith in the person of Jesus Christ, who deposits His perfection in our spiritual bank account. It’s all due to His sacrifice on the cross for our sins.

This New Covenant is unlike the old covenant, the Mosaic Law, which thundered from Mount Sinai in Exodus 20. When God declared his righteous, holy standard of sinless perfection from that ancient mountain, the people of Israel stood in awe.

They were terrified of God’s presence. Israel attempted to walk God’s high wire of holiness. In Exodus 24:3 they said to Moses, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

Yet before Moses even brought down the tablets from Sinai, the people had already violated the first two commandments forbidding idolatry. Thousands of years of human effort have testified to the truth: No one can keep God’s law. Romans 3:10 states, “There is none righteous, not even one.”

But people today continue to attempt to walk the high wire of holiness. They try to build their perfect pyramids. These people proclaim the pernicious lie: Live right, follow the rules, and you will get in good with God.

This heresy was heralded by a group of religious leaders called the Judiazers in the first century, Jewish teachers who mixed the mercy of the Cross with the commandments of the Mosaic Law to create their own system of salvation.

Apostle Paul repudiates the Judiazers’ system in 2 Corinthians 3:1-11, offering a better way to walk with God, a way of grace that gives us the desire to do what is right and offers forgiveness that catches us when we fail.

On Faith is a forum for Orange County clergy and others to offer their views on religious topics of general interest. Submissions, which will be published at the discretion of The Times and are subject to editing, should be delivered to Orange County religion page editor Jack Robinson at 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Submissions also may be faxed to (714) 966-7711 or e-mailed to jack.robinson@latimes.com.