If we visit Texas for any length of time, we’ll likely be pulling on a pair of Justins. Or Stetsons. Or the iconic Lucchese brand, handmade in a classic style.
One thing that won’t vary no matter the exotic brand we choose is the bootstrap.
What is a bootstrap? the uninitiated might ask. Boots, the Texas cowboy kind, are designed to fit like a glove. The shaft hugs the calf like a rattler around a field mouse. Slip one foot in, and it squeezes it firmly all the way down the gullet.
So, sometimes we have to force our foot inside our boot. We do that with the bootstrap.
We need those bootstraps to make it to heaven. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to “test everything; hold fast what is good.”
What does that mean to us?
We have to hold firmly to our bootstraps. We have to take hold of our salvation in one hand and the promises of the Father in the other, and we have to give our Christian walk some effort. It doesn’t just “happen.” We make it happen.
Acts 16:31 assures us we can do it with these words: “And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ ”
Try on a Texas boot, and at first we think, “No way!” We are certain it will never fit. Then, after a quick tug on our bootstraps, our foot goes in, and we lean back with a sigh. We then understand why cowboys wear their boots even when they are not on the range. Boots just feel so right! They are the epitome of comfort beyond compare. We wonder why we never tried them on before.
We become an advocate. We want others to give Justins and Stetsons a try. Lucchese, we crow! Put a pair on, and you will be convinced!
2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
We become a bootstrap, pulling others toward Jesus. We slip God’s love around those we come into contact with, and when the time is right, God gives us a tug, and we become the instrument he uses to bring others to salvation in the Son through the cross.
We are the ultimate bootstrap.
When we put on Jesus, he fits us like a leather glove, and his presence feels better than anything we’ve experienced before.
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