Good Way First

This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Jeremiah6:16NIV

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness… Matthew6:33NIV

There are many ways out there, and when you are young there is the tendency to try a few of them without thinking of the consequences, or where they will end up. Everyone who is older, has been young once, but sometimes our younger folks don’t realise that, or they seem to think it was different way back then in the dark ages! Spoiler alert. It wasn’t any different!

The saying ‘older and wiser’ is there for a reason, and should not be discounted. Wiser doesn’t mean educated with a diploma, but experienced by virtue of the school of hard knocks graduated with a first class honours degree. I don’t say every older person has tried every road or path in life, but between us we have walked a good few. Bad destinations that you don’t recognise while you are having fun. Rough terrain but you know you can handle it. Peaks and hills that tire you out, but don’t worry there’s always tomorrow morning to sleep it off. And you will always find ‘friends’ who will help you try out as many of these paths as you can, after all you are only young once, right? Yes, I have heard it before.

You don’t really need to know it from the Bible although it is very clear there, but that piece of common sense we all have tells us that it is better to find the good way, and not to waste our life searching for the best of a bad bunch of misleading paths. Can I let you into a secret? Taking the good way really doesn’t rob you of fun, or a worthwhile experience. It’s true. The Bible puts it as ‘rest for your souls’ but that can’t be a bad thing, can it? Who, in this life, doesn’t want some peace at any age?

The key question is how do we find that good way, and know it for sure? Spoiler alert number 2. It’s using more common sense, but it might help to know the rest of the text at the top of the post. You don’t need to be educated to understand the meaning, so here it is…..

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness… and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew6:33NIV. Now tell me, how good is that? I’ll tell you, it’s unbeatable!

No One Saw!

Tom had his 14th birthday the week before, so he was already a young and responsible teen, trusted by his mum and dad, and almost revered by his 12 year old sister Mary. It was only two years, but Mary thought they were massive. Her brother could do no wrong and was good at pretty much anything. Imagine their surprise and delight when mum and dad asked Tom to look after Mary for the evening because they had a special church meeting to go to, and anyway, Tom was responsible and a good boy who could be trusted with the care of Mary for the evening until mum and dad came home just a couple of hours later. Just one thing they asked of them both. Look after each other and stay out of trouble. It’s a nice night, so if you want to go out, stay close to home. Promise? Dutifully, they promised.

The adults had hardly left the house when Mary and Tom had an idea. The same idea. They even thought like each other, that is how close they were. Mary made those big wide eyes and said, “remember the cove that we always go on a picnic with mum and dad? How about we go there for an hour, and come home in plenty of time before mum and dad get back”, she gushed. It was out in one long breath, and Tom liked the plan too. But they had been told to stay close to home. The cove was only a 5 minute walk from their house on the cliff walkway. Mary continued, by assuring Tom that she would behave, and not leave his side, and do everything he said. That sealed it for Tom, so gathering a few treats to eat, they left and had a great time. They loved this cove because it was always quiet, and once again they had the sandy beach all to themselves. And they got home before mum and dad. Result!!

No one was any the wiser, and I mean no one. The days passed into weeks, and about a month later after dinner, while still sat at the table, dad asked Tom, if he remembered looking after his wee sister for the evening? Of course he remembered. How could he forget because it all went so well to plan. Dad continued…. “You stayed in the street, right? Not too far from the house, right? You made a promise, remember?” By this time both Tom and Mary were almost squirming in their seats, but no one was there. No one saw them. It was impossible to be caught out, so they both agreed that they had stayed close to home as they had said. Just about then, mum’s smile faded as she placed a glossy magazine on the table. It was one of those tourist monthly publications. That was all. Panic over. In complete silence mum flicked through some pages and stopped at a lovely full page image of one of the favourite places to visit that tourists liked. She slid the folded open glossy across the table where both of the kids could see it. Blue skies. Small shallow waves lapping on the sandy shore, and there enjoying the sunset were two figures sitting with a picnic. It was a really nice photo, and the photographer must have had one of those expensive, long, telephoto lenses because you could easily make out the faces of Tom and Mary. “Oh no” they gasped in unison. They had been well and truly caught! Right there and then the truth just came tumbling out. Confessions were made, forgiveness was given, and trust was restored. One thing was certain though, they would never try that trick again.

The old Sunday School verse that the kids thought was just a Bible exercise which had no use or meaning, had tripped them up badly and in such a way they could never have imagined. But God sees our every movement and we cannot hide from Him. The Psalmist David knew this truth to his cost when he tried to hide his sin from God. There is no hiding place for us either!

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. Psalm 139:7,8

Looking or Seeing?

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 1 John 1:1

How often do husbands, ask their wife where something has been put, and when told, they still can’t put their hands on it? Has it been moved? No, because invariably the wife, usually with a sigh, will go directly to the place, and without looking, pick up the thing which the man ‘looked for’ and didn’t see. It’s almost embarrassing for the man, and a point scored for the wife.

Why is the missing item not noticed the first time? It is safe to say that the man looked, but didn’t see because he didn’t search closely. The apostle John right at the start of this short letter wants to set the record straight. He makes the point that the early apostles listened to, and saw Jesus with their own eyes, and not only that, to emphasise the point he goes on to say, “we have looked”. There could be no doubt for the skeptics or unbelievers here, because these early disciples were absolutely certain that they had found the long looked for Messiah. They were so sure of it that almost every one of the early disciples died speaking this truth. They could not deny what they had seen and looked at!

The obvious lesson for us today is clear. When we look for God’s will, or read the Scriptures, how much goes in and stays in our minds? How diligently do we look for His direction? The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah says it well when he records: You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13