WALKING GOD’S PATH

Walking God's Path, Blue Ridge Mountains, NC

God created human beings in his image and placed them in a perfect creation. He created us for relationship and shared love. He imparted free will in us; the ability to choose. The first couple had only one restriction in their Camelot world; not to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil. It wasn’t that this fruit didn’t look good or taste good; it was simply there to test good choices and obedience. The two humans actually walked with their creator in the cool of the morning in the “beautiful beyond belief” garden that was designed for their pleasure and sustenance. But the woman was first tempted to eat the forbidden fruit by a fallen spirit and as so often happens, she spread the blame to her mate by enticing him to disobey as well.

Their free will disobedience tripped an internal circuit we all share that made them aware that they had done something wrong. It opened their awareness to both the good and the evil that permeates this existence. It exposed them to their nakedness and prompted them to be ashamed of their actions. They hid among the trees in the garden when they once again heard God moving through the garden in the cool of the day. They intuitively recognized that they had not only broken their relationship with God, but the world around them had also been shattered. Consequences were in order. They chose to blame others rather than accept responsibility; chose to hide rather than confront; chose to make excuses rather than admit to wrongdoing.

That intuition is still part of modern human DNA. It has been embedded in the spiraling strands that have been ingeniously passed along for generations. It’s with all of us today. We still know when we have detoured from good living. We call the mechanism “conscience” but it remains a mystery, like our mind, soul and spirit. God has a plan for us, but he gave us the free will to ignore it and go it alone.

King Solomon, the richest and wisest man to ever live, wrote in his wisdom book of Proverbs to “trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take”. My niece and her husband chose this scripture for me to read at their wedding this month. Then our associate pastor used it this morning as the focal point of her message. I’ve learned enough about teaching to know that if you really want to drive home a point, you tell them, then you tell them again. When Jesus wanted to really get someone’s attention, he repeated their name. So I think this posting was destined to be written!

It’s not good to spend life hiding in the bushes off the path, but confronting our weaknesses and staying in touch with our creator, requesting his forgiveness, accepting his grace, changing our behavior and deferring to his directions along a path of living a joyous life to the fullest.