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This past Sunday was very frustrating. I was supposed to take part in a pastor friend's ordination. A few miles from the church he serves I found the road was out due to construction. I still had plenty of time if I could find a good alternate route. I entered the address of the church into my GPS and began following the directions. It took me nearly four miles away and then would have me turn around and go back the same way I just came only for an additional nine miles. I knew I would not go the entire 13 miles back the way I came, but I had already lost valuable time going the four miles. On my way back I noticed a road that I thought might take me around the construction. About four miles on that road I realized it was not taking me where I needed to be. My GPS kept telling me to take the route it had mapped out. I soon found the detour that had been set up by the state highway department, but it was a long trip to the church. However, nothing else I had tried worked so I thought I would see how long I would be on that road before I needed to turn to go to the church. By the time I got to my turn the service had already been underway for 20 minutes, and I was still 20 minutes from the church. I turned the other way and returned home. I explained what happened that evening to my friend, and he was very gracious and apologized for not telling me the normal route to their church was closed.
On my return home I couldn't help but think of how true Proverbs 14:12 is. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." My instincts pointed me to a couple of roads that I thought would lead me to my destination, but in both cases they took me somewhere I didn't want to be, and they cost me valuable time. Technology failed me as well as my GPS couldn't deliver on its promise to guide me to my destination. Because I followed the wrong roads I did not arrive at my planned destination and my plan to participate in my friend's ordination died.
There are so many people on the wrong roads in life. They travel on various roads thinking these roads will take them to where they want to be. Some of these roads include materialism, power, drugs, alcohol, perversions, and countless other pursuits that people believe will provide them with what they are seeking in life. It is so sad to see people making choices that they think will help them become successful and happy, and yet the end consequence of those choices is a life of pain and bondage. Even worse are those who are seeking to find God but are traveling on paths that will never lead them to Him. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." It may not be politically correct in today's postmodern world to say, but there are not many roads to God. There is one, and it is through Jesus Christ. Every other road that one takes to find God will turn out to be a dead end. Sadly, some will stay on that road until it is eternally too late to turn around. Others will abandon that road only to turn down another road that also will not lead them to God.
I was on four or five wrong roads Sunday, but the only thing it cost me was the opportunity to participate in my friend's ordination service. We were both disappointed, but there was no real damage done. However, traveling on some wrong roads can destroy a person physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. It can create major problems not only for that person but for others around that person. In some cases, the damage is permanent, even eternal. God created us and loves us. He has given us in the Bible the directions we need to experience life in the fullest sense, and the only way to enjoy a personal relationship with Him. The only correct road to God is through Jesus Christ. If you want some help in finding that road, please feel free to contact me.
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