Finding the way is an interesting process.
Sometimes I have specific directions to follow. Go 3/10 of a mile to the purple house and turn left. I love people who can give clear, concise directions.
Sometimes I know generally where I am going, and I use the trial and error method to find my way. I know it's got to be somewhere along here. No, this is a dead-end. It must be the next street. This works if I have some basic knowledge to start with, such as I know the park is near the top of the hill or I know her house is in this neighborhood.
Jesus doesn't give us detailed directions; he has a different approach. He tells us that he is the way. An odd statement, when you think of it. We are given a person, instead of a set of steps.
So, we examine his words to learn how to live. We examine his life to see what it looks like. We complain that there are too many expectations. We complain that the rules aren't clear enough. Either way, we make excuses for why we can't be just like Jesus.
Henry Blackaby writes, "Suppose you had to cross a field full of land mines. A person who knew exactly where everyone of them was buried offered to take you through it. Would you say to him, 'I don't want you to tell me what to do. I don't want you to impose your ways on me?' I don't know about you, but I would stay as close to that person as I could. I certainly would not go wandering off. His directions to me would preserve my life. He would say, 'Don't go that way, because that way will kill you. Go this way and you will live.'
Too many of us read that paragraph and think we would certainly follow the way if we thought there were land mines around, if we thought it was a matter of life or death . . . only later do we think: oh yeah, it IS a matter of life and death.
3 comments:
The world's directions might as well be: "Go about a mile, to where the old Peterson barn used to be... Turn left, and about five miles before the road ends, look for a cow standing by a dirt lane; turn right..."
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life..." As Major Ian Thomas said, "The Way...how to become a Christian; the life...how to be the Christian you've become...that's the truth." When we complain that the rules aren't clear, that's the clue--we can't walk in Jesus' footsteps by following rules, only by letting Him do the walking! In the person of His indwelling Spirit. The Way is life rather than death...our life is His to live.
I think part of the problem is that there are too many other people around who have hit those land mines (as we all have, pretty much on a daily basis), but rather than tell us the truth (those mines hurt!), they stand there telling us, "it's just a flesh wound!" And sadly, too often, we believe them.
Or maybe, in a tired state, I'm way overextending the metaphor.
And unless I'm forgetting my useless trivia, jh has seen "Funny Farm" too much.
Snowed in, you're not wrong! Of course, some would say that to see Funny Farm once is too much, but it suits my warped humor. God bless.
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