The First Cost of Freedom

We stumble at our own peril. (8-minute read)

A writer is on a long flight home. She brought a book with her so she could do research for a future article. As she highlighted paragraphs and made notes in the margins, she happened to notice what was going on with a young child and his mother sitting next to her. The mother was trying to get the child to stop doodling with a crayon in his library book. The writer quickly pulled a notepad from her bag and started jotting down her notes there, instead of marking up her book. She didn't want to provide an example that would contradict the teaching that the mother was trying to give her child. She didn’t want to cause the little one to stumble.

Stumbling is something the bible has a lot to say about. You probably knew that. But did you know that the biblical concepts about stumbling also played a major role in the founding of our nation? If not, don’t feel left out. Many Americans today would struggle to see the connection. And that’s a problem.

Paul spoke about the concept of stumbling …