British clergyman F. B. Meyer wrote about two Germans who wanted to climb the Matterhorn. They hired three guides and began the steep and treacherous ascent. They roped themselves together in this order: guide, traveler, guide, traveler, guide.

They had gone only a little way when the last man lost his footing. He was held up by the other four, because each had a toehold in the niches they had cut in the ice. But then the next man slipped and pulled down the two above him. The only one to hold on was the first guide, who had driven a spike deep into the ice. Because he held on, all the men beneath him regained their footing.

Meyer concluded his story by drawing a spiritual application. He said, "I am like one of those men who slipped, but thank God, I am bound in a living partnership to Christ. And because He stands I will never perish."

All of us slip again and again as we walk the Christian pathway. But we are held securely by the Lord, and we can be restored to close fellowship with Him when we confess our sins (1 Jn. 1:9).

Yes, we are safe in Christ (Col. 3:3). We can have the confidence that He will keep us and bring us to our final destination.  — Richard De Haan