Always One Set of Footprints
The famous poem Footprints is special to many, but it actually can lead us to falling into one of the three traps of perpetual immaturity mentioned in Eph. 4:13-16 (being tossed to a fro, carried about by every wind of doctrine). When the man in the poem looks back and sees that sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one, God tells him the that when there was only one set, He was carrying the man. But the Bible actually says there is always only one set of footprints, “30The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before you eyes, 31and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place” (Dt. 1:30-31).
This poem produces subtle, but lethal pride in us. Do you see the arrogance of believing that we can take credit for any part of our salvation (including current salvation: sanctification)? We have such a problem with pride that we don’t need it to be stimulated in us via sentimentality that would package itself as a “thanks for the help, God. It was nice to have you along with me and occasionally pick me up when I got tired.” Is there is ever a time when we don’t need to be carried? One of the essential elements of saving faith is admitting that we never could nor ever will be able to go one step on our own.