Snowy Footprints

Monday March 7, 2022

Created by Jillian Russell

1 John 2:1–6 (NIV)

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. 4 Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; 5 but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: 6 whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.

Devotion

When I was younger, every year around the beginning of January my brother and I would get our 4H dairy feeders. Every morning we would make the young baby calves a fresh bottle of milk and take it to the barn to feed them. Since it was January, there was almost always several inches of snow on the path from the house to the barn. As a kid, it was hard to carry the bottle and buckets of milk while trying to also trudge through the deep snow. Without a doubt, we would always spill over half of the milk and would have to end up remaking it almost every day. One day, my dad noticed our struggle and came out to help. He would walk the path first and make deep footprints in the snow and told us to follow his steps to make it easier for us to walk. We would then carefully make sure each of our steps matched his and would literally walk in his footsteps. He knew we needed a path to follow and led the way so that our path would be easier.

Just like my dad, God has formed a path for us to follow. God calls us their children and shows us a path that will be easier for us when we are struggling. We all struggle with sin. Sin is a product of our humanity and is inevitable, but God is our advocate and sees when we are struggling. By abiding in God, we are following the path that God has walked before us. By abiding in God, we are literally walking in the footsteps that God had previously made for us to follow so that our path would be easier. Follow those steps carefully and the path will be ready for you.

Prayer

Gracious God, help us to walk in your footsteps and follow the path that you have set for us. Amen