REFLECTIONS

Road of Life

Where is he going, I wondered as a well built young man crossed the street in front of me while a stop light held me in place. With a bulging backpack secured on his shoulders, shorts and sandals defying the winter’s chill, and a look of determination locked on his face, the young man walked briskly toward something. Doubt did not dot the look in his eyes nor did his pace suggest uncertainty. He knew where he was going; but I couldn’t help but wonder if the road of life would take him there.

Only imagination would offer any answers. I had never seen him before and would likely never see him again. But the demeanor of the man before me pictured a man on a mission. Yet experience made me to wonder where the road of life would lead him.

The road of life took Paul in a direction he would have never expected after a blinding light dropped him to his knees on the Damascus highway. Peter, James, and John dreamed of a leisurely life casting nets into the waters of Galilee until a stranger’s call redirected them to become fishers of men. Jonah set his sights on places unscathed by human wickedness before a big fish belched him onto the beach of Nineveh.

The road of life has redirected the plans of many well intended people, so I wondered just how it might redirect the young man who passed before me that day. I wondered how he would react to the doors God would open to him that he never expected. I wondered what he would do when God closed the doors he wanted to enter. I wondered how he would stand up to the tests that God would use to make him stronger, or what his response would be to the temptations Satan has in store.

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, the scripture acknowledges; but God’s plan is usually different. We will never know about the young man crossing the street that day. But it is likely that the road of life will take him places he never expected. He will enjoy successes he never imagined. He will go places not envisioned by his itinerary; face challenges he didn’t prepare for; and he will meet disappointments that bring grief to his soul. And how do we know these things will happen?—we all travel the same road.

It happened to Joseph after his dad dressed him in a colorful robe. It happened to Moses after growing up in Egyptian royalty. It happened to David in the solitude of his shepherd’s field. Joseph rose from slavery to lead a nation through difficult times. Moses led his people to the land promised to Abraham, and David became Israel’s most revered king. So who knows the plans God has for the young man who crossed my path that day?

And who know the plans God has for you and me?

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org

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