Way Home
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will
have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” – Isaiah
55:7
Anyone who has ever been hiking, skiing, or climbing in the
mountains knows that there must be a way home.
Mountain ranges like the Rockies or Serra Nevada are so vast that any
deviation from the way home could place you in a lost and life threating position. It is dangerous to not know
the way home, and dangerous still to know it and decide to ignore it. To create your own way.
When Moses left Egypt with the children of Israel; God carried
them out into the wilderness and they were headed for their new home. They were headed for Canaan and the land of
promise. It was supposed to be a short
trip, but they lost faith in God and began to trust in idols. In this way they deviated from the path and
took on themselves their own way and their own devices. They may not have known geographically where
Canaan was, they didn’t have it plotted on a map, but they had the God of the
universe guiding them home; because they knew Him so they knew the way. If they would have trusted in God, they would
have made it, but they lost faith and that cost them their lives. As Christians and sanctified people, the
devil is always trying to tempt us to lose faith, and trick us into going our
own way. This world is not our home, and
it will never be our home, we are a people seeking a country that is not
temporal but spiritual. It is a country
that you cannot see, that Google maps cannot find, and we may not know the way
home in that sense, but we “know the knower”(as a dear brother in our church
used to say). The God of creation lives
within the heart of the born again and he is taking you home. We have to trust in him, and yield to him. The devil would try to convince us to take
our own way home and find our own path.
He is always trying to belittle God, tell you lies, and make you trust
in idols. Whether it’s money, people,
theology, pleasure; you name it, he wants you to have your own way, take your
own path; the biggest idol is yourself. This is dangerous and wicked. Once I had the privilege to ski the Rocky
Mountains. The size of those mountains
are indescribable; signs are posted all over urging people to stay on the
trials, and not go out of bounds. If you
do, you do it at your own risk. There
was a certain trail that traversed back to the lodge from the west side of the
mountain labeled “Way Home.” It was
narrow, long, and flat; sometimes uncomfortable to ride on, but it was your
last chance to get home. If you missed
this trail or tried to go your own way, then you would be lost to the mountain. The trail was there for your sake, the signs
were there for your sake, and the way home was traveled by the obedient. It was not a matter of intelligence or
talent, but of trust. It was trust that
got you home, trusting in the path, the path that had be trodden before, a path
that’s not your way, but yours all the same.
As the children of
Israel, if you try to make your own path or want your own way it, will cost you
your life. It will cost you your home in
Heaven. This is why the Bible tells us to
forsake our way, and our thoughts; turn to the Lord. It is for our own good. Jesus calls us to take up our cross and
follow him. Jesus wants us to be as he
was, to be Christians, Christ like, that is: “Lord thy will be done.” Jesus
did always the will of the Father and we are called to the same. It is not our will but His, and His will is
the way home.
