"One Way Street"

"Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6

I have a little confession to make. I have a terrible sense of direction. If I have to travel somewhere unfamiliar without a map or GPS system I panic. I've gotten a little better in the last two years because of relocating to an area with which I was unfamiliar. When my husband took the GPS system with him, I was left to figure it out. I found myself excited to share the shortcuts I'd find when I was left to feel my way.

Yesterday, I chaperoned a field trip with my son. We took a visit to our state capital and a few surrounding museums. The drive was a two hour drive to an area where I've not traveled often. My husband gave me the GPS to use in case I was separated from the caravan. The first hour and 45 minutes was an easy leg of the trip. It was all highway and was a straight shot. There were probably 20 cars in the caravan along with the buses and I was holding up the rear. I saw a lot of the cars scooting around me to make sure they were in line with the caravan. They obviously did not want to be separated. As I looked at my GPS, I relaxed. I figured, "How hard can this be?" I'm just gonna relax and hang back. I'm not going to sweat this. Well, as we came to the last leg of the trip, the GPS was directing me to get off at a particular exit. I remembered the exit as I had traveled it once before with my husband. However, no one in front of me had a turn signal on. They looked like they weren't in a position to get over. So, I was left with no time for hesitation. The traffic was heavy and hesitation could easily bring an accident. What was I to do? Follow the caravan or turn at the exit which I knew to be the right one? I turned. I took the exit and proceeded about 500 feet to see another car from the caravan. Within minutes, I arrived at the destination. I found myself waiting in anticipation for another 15 minutes for the rest of the group to arrive.

I'll admit, that was an anxious moment for us. A handful of us were left standing in the parking lot wondering where the others were. When they arrived, we asked what happened. The bus driver said he'd been unable to get over in the far right lane to turn off so he was forced to go up a little further and then backtrack to get to our destination. He'd had no choice.

Fortunately in life, we do have a choice. We can choose to go the popular way or the way we know to be the only way. God's word says in no uncertain terms that Jesus is the way and that no one can have eternal life without surrendering to that way. In life, there are no other exits, no other routes you can take which will help you arrive at that destination. There's only one. You either choose to surrender your life to Christ and follow God's will or you go your own way. God leaves the choice to you. You have the free will to choose. He's not an unjust God as many see Him. In fact, many wonder why He would condemn people to a life in hell. He doesn't. He has given us a way out. We have the free will to choose Him. Yet many of us seek another way. We think there might be a shortcut or one without obstacles. Yet to seek other routes is vanity. It's a dead end.

If you haven't made the choice to go the only way, what are you going to do with that? You have free will over your eternal destiny. What will you choose? Don't wait. From experience, I can tell you we don't know how much time we have left. We assume we'll live long lives, but we don't know. We don't know what tomorrow holds. And what about your friends and loved ones? Have you shared this truth with them? If not, why wait? You're accountable for the fruit you bear. Pray for opportunities and as Luke 12:12 says, that God will give you the words to say in that time. There's no better time than now.

Father, I wept yesterday as I heard on the radio about a local soldier being killed during his deployment last week. What a devastation to his friends and family. Yet Father, if He knew you, He is now complete. Oh, how I hope that is the case. Lord, it made me realize once again how precious our time is here. We have to seize every opportunity. I pray over the lost. I pray over those who have tried to choose other paths. Convict them, Lord. I pray that I can be in a place where You can use me for Your glory. Draw us to You. Convict us to desire to bear fruit for Your kingdom. Thank you for giving us a way to You. You loved us enough to sacrifice Your Son so that we can have a way. You could've turned Your back on our sin. You could've given us what we deserve instead of the opportunity for eternal glory. In Jesus' name, Amen.