Backbone

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The spine, also called the backbone, is made up of 33 vertebras running from the base of the skull down to the pelvis. Its task is to hold the body together.

But I’ve also found that everyone has a second backbone. Ironically, it’s not made of bone; rather, it’s made of spirit.

And as your physical backbone holds your body together, your spiritual backbone holds your very being together.

Here is what I mean:

When I was younger, my spiritual backbone was being a good person. It was the thing I strived for, the thing I valued most, and the thing that over time embedded itself into my identity.

And while being a morally upright person is objectively good, like all things, it got dangerous when it became who I was rather than what I did.

So, what happened when I messed up and did something morally wrong? When I said something I shouldn’t have or didn’t keep my word or gossiped behind someone’s back?

It started to spiritually kill me. Since my spiritual backbone was made of something malleable, something that could change or splinter, it couldn’t support me.

Imagine if your physical spine wasn’t strong and sturdy. What would happen when you fell or ran into something or pushed your body to its limits?

You would crumble.

So, when I did something that didn’t line up with ‘being a good person’, it didn’t just disappoint me. It affected me to my core.

Although it has taken me years to see, I realize now that my spiritual backbone is actually more important than my physical one. The spine which holds my body together is bound to decay over time…

But what about my spiritual backbone? Is it possible to build my life on something that doesn’t change? Something sturdy that doesn’t decay over time?

I’m here to tell you, my friend, that the answer is yes. There is only one thing, more specifically, one person that provides this assurance:

Jesus Christ.

With my identity attached to being a morally upright person, I was bound to fail. I would always fall short, and in doing so, I began to crumble.

But when Jesus became my spiritual backbone, I wasn’t blown around by the winds of life anymore. My identity became fully rooted in the loving, all-powerful, and unchanging God of the universe.

I’m here to tell you, my friend, that Jesus is the only Way, the only Truth, and the only Life. He is the only backbone that will last.

This world has nothing to offer. You may think your spiritual backbone made out of money, work, status, sex, relationships, power, or even moral uprightness will last.

Do not be convinced that something so feeble will hold against the weight of life.

I’ll end with this:

“‘Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.’” Matthew 7:24-27

What foundation will you build your house on?

Grow in His grace. Be shaped by His hands. Walk the everlasting way.

God bless,

Trevor

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