Lance Lefler
Lead Pastor, Anchor Church

I once worked with a guy who drank upwards of 40 cups of coffee a day. There is nothing wrong with coffee—in fact, there is a lot right about coffee!—but once you gulp down more than, say, a gallon of it a day, coffee might be your “crutch.”

We’re all prone to this. We turn things into crutches, whether food or drink or video games, or relationships. We take something healthy and develop an unhealthy dependency on it.

I’ve heard people say, “Jesus is just a crutch.” This is a very American objection to Christianity. We believe in being fiercely independent, pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We don’t need no sissy belief to get us by!

But it’s an odd objection.

If Jesus is my King, who compels all my allegiance and affection, who dwells in me and empowers me to live for him, who is my very life (Colossians 3:4), then to call him a crutch is a bit like calling the U.S. Civil War a “disagreement.”

I don’t need a crutch; I need a stretcher!

When I came to Christianity at age 19, the gospel was the greatest news I had ever heard: here was the way to God and eternal life through faith in Jesus.

The God of the universe took on human flesh, lived a perfect life in my place, took my sins upon him, died, rose, ascended, assumed all authority in heaven and on earth. He floods my life with immeasurable love, grace and power for living (See the first chapter of the New Testament book of Ephesians for a mind-blowing rundown of all the spiritual blessings he pours out on those who come to believe in him).

So, to call Jesus my crutch is way off base. Frontline paramedic, mobile army surgical hospital, big city trauma center, intensive care unit, life support, sure. But a mere crutch?? No, that’s silly.

For more info about Anchor, go to www.anchorhsv.com

Lance Lefler

Lead Pastor, Anchor Church