To walk in Jesus' steps is to travel an arduous road-a narrow, sometimes lonely road-replete with potholes, foggy conditions and tempting exit ramps.

It's a journey that requires doing the most unnatural thing possible: giving up who we are in favor of being the person God wants us to be. Moreover, it requires walking against the steady wind, a brisk cultural current that assures us that since God is not really knowable, we should live for ourselves and for today.

Both our nature and our cultural nurture work against our sanctification. And it's always been that way. Perhaps that's why this 3,000 year old verse sounds like it could have been written yesterday:

Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man, who can find?
(Proverbs 20:6)

The couplet exposes the gap between what we say and what we do. It reveals a dubious inauthenticity;even a hypocrisy that marks every believer from time to time. We say we love God and want to do his will, but how often do we really walk that talk? When was the last time we enjoyed even 12 hours of consistently reflecting Jesus Christ? Was it today? Last Sunday? A month ago?

The term "who can find" is noteworthy in the verse, suggesting that, for many of us, it may actually have been longer than a month. The wisdom books of the Bible use "who can find" to indicate the rarity or even the impossibility of something occurring. In that light, this otherwise ordinary verse, tucked away in the pots and pans of Proverbs, becomes a subtle but stinging indictment of each one of us, leaving in its wake humility and shame.

But also in that wake is grace. After the apostle Paul admits that even he, late in his ministry, cannot reliably do God's will (Romans 7), he shares with us God's lifeline:

"There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). It's amnesty for those of us indicted by Proverbs 20:6. It engenders gratitude and fuels the continuing journey against the wind.

Which brings us to the issue of accountability. Given the challenge of living our lives for God, assembling an accountability group-a circle of spiritually mature friends who will keep us on track and moving forward-is indispensable. Proverbs puts it this way:

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
(Proverbs 27:17)

The familiar verse reminds us that God works through others to help us grow. He designed us to become disciples by co-laboring with one another, not by pursuing that end on our own.

"Where two or three come together in my name," Jesus said, "there am I with them".
(Matthew 18:20).

So come join in an accountability group and grow in Christ while blessing and being blessed by your brothers and sisters in Christ.