Seeds For Thinking

Scripture: Jesus said, “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Mathew 7:14, KJV

Which way to go? Which way to go?
We get all kinds of advice - Go THIS way! No that way is best. We are admonished to be either hot or cold. Taking the ‘middle of the road’ is bad, of course, or straddling the fence. We are to come all the way out, or stay all the way in. We encounter those who clamber for the world to choose THEIR WAY - whether high road or low, far left or right.
What would Jesus do? He advised to come, follow Him, and let the dead bury the dead. Lk. 9:60
In fact, some of the disciples complained that Jesus’ teaching were “hard” (John 6:60), saying, “Who can accept it.”
Is there a right path, straight, and aimed for the narrow gate, that does not veer to extremes? I will throw out some comments for you to think about.
Back in my youthful and more agile days I learned to walk the top of the board fence along our driveway. I even attempted to walk a tightrope (cable) with some success. It takes balance, concentration, and confidence gained from ‘walking the walk.’ If you go off to the right, left, or down you are no longer ‘walking the ‘line.’
Just ordinary walking is not easy at first. Consider young children at that stage rightly called “toddlers,” as they master the technique of walking. Again, in the fullness of years, many people have problems maintaining their balance. Assuming there is strength enough in their legs, they rely on a cane or walker. Balance, maintaining an equilibrium, is important if we wish to stand and walk, and especially if we wish to go in a particular direction.
There is another kind of balance, more of mind and spirit than physical. This is in regard to our attitudes, our psyche, or relationship to the world about us. Conscience. Judgment. Responsibility. Belonging. Fitting in. Accepting others. As Jesus put it, “Loving your neighbor as yourself.” Doing things in moderation.
If you seek to hit a target, in whatever sport, you’ve got to aim directly for it; basket, goal posts, golf cup, bowling pins, archery - whatever.
We need to truly evaluate the claims some ‘blind’ leaders and cults advocate. We should not follow blindly every voice that chants, “Go this way - the ‘target’ is over there.“ Fix your eyes on Jesus, find that narrow path, and the strait gate, and go right down the middle toward it.

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Guidance
* Scripture: Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6,

I still have, and cherish, a book that I received for Christmas when I was six years old. It is titled, “We Grow Up” - and my reading ability did indeed grow up with that book. I was fascinated by the many stories about the marvels of the times.
Railroads were probably in their golden age. Steam locomotives still held sway, and the sound and sight of an engine in full cry has never been equaled for awesome majesty, in my opinion.
The U.S. Mail rode the rails in those days, and one of the stories in the book told how the mail car snatched the mail from a pouch hanging on a pole alongside the track. I was privileged to observe that magical pickup on the fly at a post office near where we lived.
The U.S. Mail was also taking flight. Early aviators were literally the “Pony Express” of the 1930’s and 40’s. While the railroad engineer was firmly guided by the tracks, the airplane could go wherever the pilot wished, but sometimes too much freedom is not a good thing. More than one pilot found guidance in the ‘trackless skies” by following a railroad track to a known location.
My book told how the aviation beacon system worked. We could see several such beams at night, shining forth their rotating beacons of light, each with a special on and off pattern that identified the location. Pilots could follow the beams from point to point, even if nothing else on the ground was visible.
Another marvel was the new radio navigation system, and I had to take their word for this one, because it was invisible to the eye, and we had no radio to pick up the signals. But the pilot ‘riding the beam’ could hear the tones in his headphones that signaled “Too far right” or “Too far left” and corrected the airplane’s direction until the tone signified “On The Beam” - the true flight path.
We had another book at home that told how to find and follow the moral and spiritual true path - the Bible. I cherish that Book, also.
We are not unlike a railroad train in our early years. We are guided firmly by our parents along a way that constrains us. Yet, even with rails, trains have signs and customs to keep all who travel that route directed safely to the proper destination.
Later, we have freedom to literally “roam the skies.” Even here, too much freedom is not always a good thing. We need guidance, something to keep us “on the beam.” Jesus is that beacon, the beam of light that keeps us from becoming lost in the darkness of sin.
October 30, 2005