Do you ever get lost? I rarely get lost, but I do admit to some unplanned exploring. In these situations Paulette usually says, “You’re lost! And like all men you just refuse to ask for directions!” She’s not alone in that accusation; I’ve heard other women say the same thing. One woman said the reason men don’t ask directions is in their genes. My response is that when I ask, I usually wind up knowing less than I did before; the people I ask either don’t know the way, or they deliberately mislead me.  

 Paulette maintains that I DO get lost, and one of her stories, fortunately hypothetical, has me driving on I-40 when she calls me on my cell phone and tells me, “Be careful. The radio says there’s some idiot driving the wrong way.” In her story my response was, “One? They’re all going the wrong way.”    

 We can get lost in our spiritual life as well. Sometimes we let the trials and demands of everyday life get us going around in circles until we feel like we’re on the Daytona Speedway, or we find ourselves going the wrong way and refuse to turn around. Other times we lose our way and refuse to ask for directions or, if we do seek, help we turn to dubious worldly sources we find standing along the road. Where should we go for spiritual direction?

 Fortunately, the answer has been given to us. In response to Thomas’s question, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus responds “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” (John 14:5-6) Hence there is only one answer to our question, “How can we find our spiritual way?” – accept God’s grace and follow Him.

This view of Jesus must have been widely held, for the early Christians were known as “Followers of the Way” (e.g. Acts 9:2); they weren’t known as Christians until Barnabas and Saul served the church at Antioch (Acts 11:26). Even today we should welcome being called “Followers of the Way.” Read John 15:1-17 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Jim