"FOLLOW ME"

Bobservations Column
by Pastor Bob Lawrenz

     You have heard before that we have four seasons in upstate New York: Fall, Winter, Spring, and Construction. Detours are mild inconveniences. But if you are already unfamiliar with the region around a detour, one could easily think, “I can’t get there from here.” Happily though, the detour signs will direct us if we follow them.  They might not give us the shortest route, but the route will be the easiest one to follow, and it will be on the better roads. Just follow the big orange arrows posted at the side of the road.

    That’s what God had in mind when He gave mankind His Word. The Jews were a stiff-necked and stubborn people though. We can see the difficulty already. Someone will think they have a better idea than God. If God’s directions are true, then all other directions are heresy. After a long period of not following God’s directions, mankind has become unfamiliar with His voice and with His Word.

    The human race was “lost” and like Moses was sent to lead the people out of Egypt, Jesus was sent to seek and to save those that were lost. The  directions God gave had been compromised so God sent His only begotten Son to lead us back to His heavenly home. No longer are we lost. We are found. No longer do we follow orange arrows. We have Jesus sent to lead us; no longer a series of signs to follow, God sent His only begotten Son to guide us onto the right path to eternal life.

    Humanistic shortcuts can be dead-ends, wrong turns, and most certainly, tours with an altered destination. The dangers on the short cuts are unknown to us as we proceed carelessly, even to our own hurt. Jesus alone gives us the most direct and safest route. Following Jesus, we know that we’ll get there, and it is even easier than operating your car’s GPS unit.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: No man
cometh unto the Father, but by me.”      – John 14:6

Seventeen times in the Gospels, Jesus is recorded to have given
really easy directions: ……“Follow me.”