Jesus Removed All Confusion, Doubt, and Uncertainty About What Path to Take

What Did Jesus Do?  

But your eyes shall see your teacher. And you ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” Isaiah 30:20-21

Have you seen The Wizard of Oz? No, I don’t mean “the Wizard,” I mean the film. One of my favorite scenes is when Dorothy and Toto, having only just begun their trek from Munchkin Land to the Emerald City via the Yellow Brick Road, come to a junction where the YBR heads in four directions (If we include a u-turn back to Munchkin Land, which by the way kids, is not McDonald’s). Poor Dot is totally undone. How is she to choose, how can she know, which of the several routes will get her to the Emerald City and on her way back to Kansas? As it turned out, there is a professor of post-modern philosophy literally hanging around by the intersection (Think about it, the dude was brainless!). As Dorothy debates her dilemma out loud, the philosopher chimes in: “Some go this way." (Points to the left.) “And some go that way.” (Points to the right.) “And some go.” (Points both ways.) Just in case Dorothy wasn’t sufficiently plagued by confusion, doubt, and uncertainty, Professor Scarecrow muddies the water even further by saying that people pick lots of different directions, without indicating who, if any, ever actually get to where they need to go. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to rely on the advice of post-modern philosophers or scarecrows, we have Jesus, who removed all confusion, doubt, and uncertainty, to tell us the path to take.

In truth, life is not as gray as philosophers and scarecrows would make it out to be. Rather, it is ultimately just about as black and white as it could be, for there are really only two ways through life to choose from: the right way, and the wrong way. The right way is characterized by, what else, righteousness. The trademark of the wrong way is wickedness. There right way leads unerringly to blessedness, to blissful contentedness and happiness. The wrong way just as unerringly leads to bitterness, to unending misery and suffering. Actually, though there is one way to blessedness, there are myriad ways to end up miserable. All the paths that leads to misery share one thing in common, none of them are the right way, because none of them lead to God, but rather away from him. (See Psalm 1)

The way to God involves anchoring ourselves in his Word, setting a strong and stable foundation for life by spending time reading and contemplating the LORD’s laws, precepts, and statutes, drinking in his commandments, and being nourished by his rules, as a tree that, planted by a stream, flourishes (Psalm 1:2-3). The blessed life rejects all philosophers and professors who promote any way but the way of the Lord, and seeks but one Teacher. And the Teacher plays no games with us, does not hide himself, but reveals himself to our eyes, and speaks a word to our ears, “THIS is the way, walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:20-21) In fact, when the apostle Thomas expressed the confusion, doubt, and uncertainty that we all experience at some point in life, “Lord, how can we know the way” (John 14:5), the Teacher removed for all time all confusion, doubt, and uncertainty by telling us, “I AM the Way!” (John 14:6)

 It’s like this, we either follow Jesus, the Way, or we don’t. Following the way of the Lord leads to the blessedness David talked about in Psalm 1. Any and all ways other than following Christ, however exciting, pleasurable, even rewarding they may be in this life, are ways of wickedness, and doomed to perish in the end (Psalm 1:6). One might just as well follow a brainless scarecrow as to believe those who say there are many ways through life that all arrive at the same destination. No one can come to the Father but through Jesus, and there is no confusion, doubt, or uncertainty about it!

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4