Everyone has a crutch. Will yours hold you up?
When people ask me, “Isn’t Christ just a crutch?” I have a simple reply. I tell them, “You’re right. Christ is a crutch. But you’ve asked the wrong question.”
No one makes fun of a lame person who uses a crutch. So the real question is, “Am I lame; am I crippled?” because crippled people need crutches.
The fact is, everybody leans on something. As a Christian I lean on Jesus, because He’s a crutch that can hold me. What about you?
When I was a kid and someone told a dumb joke, we’d say, “That’s as funny as a rubber crutch.” The point is “rubber crutches” aren’t funny. As it turns out, though, a lot of people are leaning on rubber crutches.
The real question is not whether you have a crutch or not. Everybody does. The real question is, “Can your crutch hold you?”
What’s your fancy? What is it that makes your life work for you? A relationship? A secure job? Your bank account? Your health? Power? All of those are rubber crutches.
If whatever you’re depending on for security and significance can be here today and gone tomorrow, then you’re in trouble. You’re leaning on a rubber crutch. And that’s not funny.
Yes, Christians lean on Christ. Call it a crutch if you want, but our crutch can hold us.
One person put it this way: A Christian is one who has come to the end of his rope. He admits his deep need. He knows he’s crippled in many ways, and needs help. When you finally come to your senses and realize you’re deeply crippled and dying, Christ isn’t “just” a crutch—He’s an iron lung.