My Way – Be Single Minded

Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV)

“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”

If you’re like me, you think you have a decent head on your shoulders. You can make most decisions in life without too much difficulty. You have a plan for how you want things to go. Things usually go as you want, until they don’t, and then you figure a way out of the mess.

I’ve been thinking about the fact that I really don’t know a whole lot about a whole lot of things. There is such a larger world out there than my small adventures. However, it seems pretty obvious that the world and most people in it are either in a mess or are heading straight into one. Experts on every side are determining the correct path forward for everyone else while sitting comfortably in their easy chair with their coffee or bourbon. I’m convinced none of us really have a clue.

Then enters Jesus. This time of year, more than any other time, I am moved into a season of reflection. I think about where I might be had Jesus not come to reveal truth to this world… if He had not come with the cross in full view… if He had not made it possible for me, and for you, to be reconciled to Him.

You see, if He hadn’t come, He never could have restored us. If He hadn’t come we’d be left to our own devices, we’d be left to only what we could think up on our own. There would be no revelation of truth. There would be no way out. It would all end in the vanity of Solomon. It would all end in death because we would be trapped in our own thinking and none of our answers would work. Do you see how devastating that is? Can you sense the emptiness that would persist in your life, in the lives of those you love, and in the lives of everyone in this world, had Christ not come? Stop and think about it. We think we have a mess now. Wow.

Now return to the hope we have in Christ. We are not doomed to follow our own ways which lead to death. Because Jesus came, we have the gift of walking every day in the light of His life and truth. We can see that our own way brings death apart from Christ but we don’t have to live like that.

Bring this mindset into your Christmas season. Walk in the somberness and then the celebration of what this season means. Bring the realization of what Christ has done for you – what He’s done for all of us into your daily activities, conversations, and mindset. Share what Christ has done for you to any who will listen. We aren’t trapped in a “my way” world, we can rise above the death that world brings, and live a better life… all because Jesus came. Submit to His way this Christmas and enjoy the fruit of what Christmas really is. Don’t be stuck in the “my way” mindset. Think on Jesus, what He has done for you, then live it out.