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!

The Journey - Crossroads

Why would anyone do it? You are armed with an accurate compass, a good map, and even a mobile phone with maps included. You know the way to your destination but you either don’t use your tools or you don’t believe them. So you deliberately take the wrong road which is probably longer and definitely harder, but so what? Hey ho, we like living the impulsive and carefree life.

Don’t you think we do that in our real life faith journey? Every time we know in our hearts which is the right way, the quickest, with least hassle, we choose to ignore the God given still small voice that is there to help. It’s called our conscience, and we are expert in pushing it’s wisdom to one side while we do our own thing. But why? Why indeed?

To take the right road in life means going against the flow. Against the popular opinion and thought of our peers. Doing the right thing would make us look foolish in our friends’ eyes, and we don’t want that, do we? There is a cost to our hearts and minds when we ignore the obvious truth. We result in having emotional and possibly physical scars down the line of life. These scars remain, even after we have tried to put things right. Truth is, we have stood at more than one crossroad and deliberately took the wrong way, but we called the tune, so had to pay the piper. Recognise anyone? I’m sure most, if not all, of us can relate. Please take care at those crossroads. The wrong path will cost you big time!

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask where the old road is. Ask where the good road is, and walk on that road. If you do, you will find rest for yourselves. But you people have said, ‘We will not walk on the good road.’ Jeremiah 6:16

Our 'Way'

There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12

We usually use this verse to show clearly that the path we take to live our lives, even with good intentions, may not be best for us or others looking on. It is also used as a verse to show the way of salvation from the way we think is right, to the way that God knows is right. I also think it can be used in another, more down to earth and meaningful way. In fact, it’s the word ‘way’ that catches my attention.

According to the dictionary, as well as meaning a path, or road, the word can also mean a method, style, or manner we adopt. Someone close to me once explained, after saying some harsh, ill thought through comments, “It’s just the way I am. It’s the way I was made, so you’ll just have to accept me like this”. Really? I don’t think so. That’s the problem we are sometimes faced with. We can expect and accept it from the unchurched and unsaved, but what if it comes from a Christian brother or sister as sometimes can be our experience?

Scripture is clear that when we accept Christ, we are changed from the inside out. Yes, we can occasionally step out of line and need forgiveness, but what if a friend’s ‘way’ can be naturally harsh, abrasive, and off putting? Perhaps on more than the odd occasion? However, it is equally important that I also must remember to be careful not to fall into the sin of seeing the speck, and ignore the plank in our own eye. God does not leave us as he found us. The apostle Paul made it clear in when he said with confidence:

For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Romans 6:14,15 NIV