When we plug an address into our smartphone maps, we often have a choice to get to our destination. One way is faster, one way has more curves, one way is more scenic, one comes from two different directions, but they all eventually end up at the same place.
We have been told by well-known celebrities and even preachers that this is the case with God as well, that there are many paths we can take to get to Him.
God says that’s not the case, though. He says there is ONE WAY and that no other will achieve what we’re longing for.
In Isaiah 53:6, the prophet likens us to sheep. These critters are known for going along in their flock, then veering off their own way, often finding themselves stuck in ditches, swept away by rivers, mired to their bellies, or irreparably lost. It doesn’t seem a complimentary analogy.
We have all done this, though. (How many is “all”? I’m being facetious. All includes every single one of us.) We have all at one time or another chosen one god as the one to please, and not the Creator. We do this by choosing a god who doesn’t require meeting with others who believe the same. We like being able to do our own thing without restriction. We’re fond of loving who we want to in the way we want. We prefer making our own decisions about what to do with our lives, certain that those will eventually land us in the place of eternal rest.
God with us (Jesus) declared quite succinctly in John 14:6 that HE is the Way, Truth and Life, that NO ONE gets to God except through Him. No other path. No other road. No other saviors, no other gods. He said that the gate to God is narrow and few will get through.
Mankind has been looking for a way to God that would allow them to be the masters of their lives since God spoke time into existence. We want what we want how we want it and we want it now, and no one gets to tell us what to do.
Simply put, that’s rebellion against the Almighty. It is sin. We choose it. We revel in it. We proudly shout it out. Yet, it is our destruction. It yields utter and eternal separation from God and all that is of Him.
God doesn’t want us to be separated from Him, so He took all the sins of mankind that had happened before Jesus walked the planet He created and laid them on His sinless shoulders to endure the torturous separation from God in our place. He included the sins of all who would come after that day—including you and I—in that immense pile of ugliness placed on Him.
All our sin, injustice, and wrongdoing was placed on Jesus. All of it. He suffered the consequences we deserved for our rebellion—even that which happened yesterday.
Today, and every day we have a choice to make: will we follow God’s path or will we choose to blaze our own? Will we choose Him or self to rule our lives?
Which path do you choose today?
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
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