The Road Ahead

How blessed are those who have a loving family to guide them during their younger years. To have someone to point out the right path, and give priceless advice. For many, their reality doesn’t include the counsel of wise people helping them reach a higher plane in life. Solomon gave some advice to his son (s) that were intended to “... give prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance…” (Proverbs 1:4-5). This was more than just good advice; it was, as he said in Proverbs 7:1, “My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live…” 

Regardless of where a person started out or how involved their parents were with giving them direction, at some point, our success depends a lot on the choices we make. Therefore, it’s imperative that we surround ourselves with good people, and avoid situations that only lead to sin and heartache. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:33-34, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God…”

Jesus came to serve as a pattern to follow so we could follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21). The challenge is knowing and understanding the path He’s pointing us towards. Oftentimes we have our preconceived ideas of what we’re going to say or what we’re going to do, when in reality, we might quickly realize that our original plan won’t work.

After Jesus’ resurrection, He appeared to some men walking towards Emmaus, a little village outside of Jerusalem. While He walked with them, He explained God’s will to them and helped them see how God’s hand had been in all the events of His death, burial, and resurrection (Luke 24:13-35). What they would soon understand about Jesus’ mission was that it was that we would become ambassadors for His cause—pointing people towards the only “way, truth, and life” (John 14:6).

Today, we still struggle with understanding God’s will, but that’s typically because we fail to acknowledge how Jesus’ mission encompasses every aspect of our life. That mission: love our neighbor! (Matthew 22:37-39; 1 John 3:19-24). How do I demonstrate love towards my neighbor in every aspect of daily life? Jesus said in Luke 9:23-25, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?”

Does your life reflect one that uses Jesus’ model of living in every part of your life? Listen to the advice of many godly people in our past, in the Bible, all around us...and make a change for the better today!