Ironically, the most eternally significant trait we share is the one we struggle most to admit to one another.  We don’t shrink from crying out to others when our homes have been blown away by a storm, or when we are in an accident and need someone to save us.  And certainly we should not, since God has put us here to help each other.  But when we sin, we instinctively withdraw.  Our embarrassment inhibits us, and the thought others would think us weaker than we should be in our moral life makes it difficult to be transparent.  Even when we are not at fault we assume others will think we are, and we hide our pain and refuse to seek help.  This error can separate us from those who love us most and position us for stronger attacks from the evil one.

In the wild, predators prey on the weak.  Weak animals have a hard time keeping up with the herd and often fall into crevasses and thickets where they can be easily snatched by the strong.  In the same way Satan wears us down with temptation and looks for opportunities to destroy us when he finds us broken and isolated.

This means our most dangerous common condition is also the one in which we find ourselves the most hopeless.  When we add to this the biblical truth that, as a human race, we are incapable of erasing the guilt of sin, our sense of despair can become even more acute.  Were it not for grace, poured out in the form of Jesus atonement on the cross, where would we turn?

Still, there is more to consider than our salvation.  After the uncommonly common Savior rescues us, he leads us through the ongoing process of sanctification.  He inspires us daily, and when we are prone to throw in the towel, we look to His example.  In this way, “he is able to help those who are being tempted.”