GodSprings - 22, March, 2018

Am I Walking Towards Death or Life?

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
Proverbs 14:12

There is a story about two brothers. They were convicted of stealing sheep and were branded on the forehead with the letters ST, to indicate “sheep thief.” The younger one was not able to bear the stigma and moved away. Eventually he died and was forgotten. The elder one but decided to take a different route. He said, “I can’t run away from what I did, so I’ll stay here and win back the respect of my neighbours and myself.” As the years passed he was able to build a solid reputation for integrity. One day a stranger saw him. The elder brother was now an old man but still with the letters ST on his forehead. He asked a townsman what they signified. He replied, “It happened a long time ago. I have forgotten the particulars. But I think the letters are an abbreviation for ‘saint.’

Everyday our life is full of big and small choices. Our choices reflect our intelligence and at the same time it also reveals what’s there in our hearts. There is no doubt that what we choose today affects our life in the future. The principle of sowing and reaping holds true. What we will reap in the future will surely uncover what we sow today.

The above verse warns us about that. Making a decision is sensitive and critical. We need the help of God. It is always a wise move to consider the will of God in making a decision. The most basic and yet the most important choice is the path we will take in this present life: Will we choose God’s path of eternal life or will we go our way to destruction?

By path or way the writers meant a course of action, a life direction, a pattern of behavior. We can choose many paths and directions for our life.

The Bible begins talking about knowing good and evil. We are expected to be experienced judges who choose well what will help us on our journey and what will hinder us. The Old Testament prophets had a message that repeated over and over. If we choose a relationship with God, we have life. If we reject relationship with God we break the covenant and we have death.

Even today we have this struggle. Sometimes we are close to God and in tune with God. Sometimes we choose death when we ignore god and choose something inferior. Andrew Foster says, Death is a slow process of giving ourselves to what does not matter.

Appearances and first impressions are not always accurate. Some things may appear to the naked eye to be clear, clean and transparent but they are not what they seem. We need to have a different way of looking at things. We need to go for the Divine perspective and vision. There is a vast difference between human perspective and divine perspective. To have the divine perspective do I ask for God’s council before every big and small decision that I make?

Let us pray and ask God to alert us if we wander and correct us if are still persistent on taking a wrong detour in our life. For the way of life is not possible without God on our side.