Decisions, Decisions

The other day I was out exploring/exercising on my bicycle.  I was trying to follow a dirt track which, according to Google maps, went back out to the main road.  But Google maps has not always proved correct when it comes to some of these back roads.

At any rate, I came to a fork in the road and it was time to make a decision.  The road to the left was newer, wider, in better condition, and went in the general direction I needed to go.

But I took the other road—and it turned out to be a wise decision.

The reason for my decision: it looked like the road to the right had been around a while and was well used.  Hence it was narrower (overgrown with time) and in poorer shape because it was used more.




People tell me I can be a fairly good navigator.  Since I was a child I’ve loved maps.  I remember studying the maps on a cross-country road trip that our family took when I was seven.  Back then, most gas stations gave out free maps--that was always a highlight for me!  And it certainly helped to have good map reading and navigational skills in my previous occupation where I made maps.

But navigating is not just about maps—it’s also reading road and traffic conditions.  One trick I will often use in unfamiliar territory is to follow the dominant traffic flow—at least if I’m trying to stay on a through road.  Occasionally that backfires—as when I once ended up at a Coscto.

I think of my crossroad decision—where I followed what appeared to be the more “traveled” road—and I compare it to the last lines of Robert Frost’s famous poem:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost has a different take on navigation here.  And his take is perhaps a bit more relevant to how we navigate through life.

Often, if we want to do the right thing, we will not be doing the popular thing.  Or if we are leading in a given area, we will often be blazing a new trail.

Jesus said:

¹³ "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. –Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV)

This well-know verse comes near the end of the Sermon on the Mount.  And in the Sermon on the Mount there is a collection of sayings that go like: “you have heard it said…, but I say to you…” where Jesus contrasts the normal way of doing things with God’s way.  The implication is that God's way of doing things is often along the "road less traveled".

Sometimes it can be lonely when you take the road less traveled.  It is a road where we can find ourselves misunderstood quite often.  It takes courage to walk that road.

Today in church, a young woman got up during the sharing time and started telling a story.  I had a hard time following what she was saying because she was talking very fast and in a mixture of Thai and Khmu all of which was muffled by her tears.  The young woman was confessing some sin in her life and apologizing to those she had offended.

It took a lot of courage for her to do that.  Afterwards, one of the church leaders got up and reminded people about the importance of what had just happened, commending the young woman for daring to do what she just did, and trying to make sure that she was not misunderstood. This opened the way for mending of relationships that had been broken or messed up because of her behavior.

This young woman had come to one of the many crossroads in life and had to decide whether she was going to follow the well-traveled road—and pretend like her misbehavior was okay or did not matter—or whether she was going to follow the less-traveled road of obedience to Jesus.

She took the road less-traveled…

…and it made all the difference.

You can’t get lost…

…if you don’t have a destination



Today, I was out on my bicycle, combining my morning workout with exploring parts of our district that I had not visited before.  My journey took me up an unpaved road that turned into a field road that petered out on a hillside garden.

As I was coming back, I decided to check out some of the side streets of the nearby village.  As I was rounding one corner, I noticed a group of people standing around in one of the yards.

“Are you lost?” they asked.

I told them that I was not lost but I was new to the area and I was exploring.  What I wanted to say, but I did not know how to say in Thai, is that you can’t get lost if you don’t have a destination.  Instead, it is more like how the old saying puts it, “wherever you go, there you are.”

While this kind of attitude is great for exploring, it is not very helpful for most things in life, whether it be working or writing or doing a project around the house.  And I must confess that I do struggle in this area—I’m a better starter than a finisher.

I know I’ve listened to sermons that were put together by someone who did not have a goal.  After a while the listening gets tiring and I check out.  “Where is he going?” I’ll as myself.  Sometimes the speaker will get me by surprise and actually reach a destination. At other times I’ll notice that the speaker himself did not seem to have a goal.  I find myself looking to be fed but coming up empty.

The destination is important.

I see the importance of having a goal these days in continuing my Thai studies.  When we were in language school, there was always a goal—usually marked by the completion of a workbook and a test of some sort.  Now the struggle is to find a goal that is reasonable, in the light of ministry commitments, and then to work towards that goal.  Without such a goal, it is hard to stay motivated to study.

Our life also needs a goal.  While I don’t underestimate the value of the journey itself—our life is all about that journey—it should be a journey to someplace.

Paul noted the importance of a life goal.

¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
 ¹² Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.Philippians 3:10-14

Paul’s goal was to know Jesus and be like Him.  He notes that this is not an easy goal to attain, but that it was worth straining forward for and pressing on towards.

It is interesting to note that Paul’s goal was not to win X number of people to Jesus—though he spent his life trying reach those who had not yet heard about Jesus.  In fact, in Acts 9:15 we read that Jesus gave him a clear call to do this very thing. Yet even though his life was consumed with bringing the good news to the non-Jewish world, his actual goal was to know and be like Jesus.

Reaching people for Jesus was his task.

Being like Jesus was his goal.

I admit that my pursuit of this kind of goal often seems to lack the ardor and zeal that marked Paul’s life.  It is easy to get distracted with other things—even good things.

We read a story about this kind of thing in Luke 10:38-42 (NIV):

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
⁴¹ "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Martha missed out on the "better" part because she let the task (serving Jesus) distract her from what should have been her goal (knowing Jesus).  Both the task and the goal are important—but if we lose sight of the goal, the task has no value, and we get lost.

God, help me to fix my eyes on that which is better—that which is most important.

Slow Down

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.  He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.” Luke 10:30-34 (ESV) 



When people ask me if I like traveling, I typically respond, “I like being other places, but I don’t particularly like traveling.”

Usually when I am going some place, my goal is typically on my destination, not my journey.  I tend to dislike disruptions and once I hop on a bicycle or jump in a car, it is really hard for me to stop the vehicle and get out.

Yet life is so much about the journey and not so much about the destination.  If God’s goal for us was only to get to heaven, then He would likely just take us from this world as soon as we believe in Jesus.

But He doesn’t do that.  Because our planetary purpose is about the journey.  Things we often see as interruptions are ministry opportunities that God puts in our lives.  Our choice is whether we want to be like the religious leaders who walked right by the man who had been robbed on the way to Jericho, or like the Samaritan man, whose name has become synonymous for one who helps out those he encounters.

Too often, I live like the former.  One incident is deeply embedded in my brain.

Many years ago, I was assisting a co-worker with his work in Twenty-nine Palms, California.  We had begun the day early, while it was still dark, and had put in a long day.  I was on my way home to Bakersfield and I pulled into a McDonald’s in Barstow for dinner.  I normally don’t like to eat at McDonalds but I just wanted have something fast so that I could be on my way home.

As I got in line, I noticed a homeless man and I felt the Spirit stirring me to buy him a meal.  But, like the religious leaders in the story above, I chose to ignore such promptings, justifying my actions by the fact that I had already put in a long day and I wasn’t even done yet.

When I sat down with my food, I noticed that someone else had bought some food for the homeless man and was giving it to him.  And the Spirit seemed to speak to me, “you ignored me, and someone else is going to get the blessing.”

You think I would have learned from that, but still I have a tendency to rush by ministry opportunities that God puts in front of me on my way to ministries of MY own design and under MY control.

Lord, help me to “stop and smell the roses” as I walk along life’s path.  Help me to be more like the Samaritan who sees the ministry opportunities that You have placed right in front of us, that I have a propensity to totally NOT see.  And by Your grace through Christ Jesus, forgive me for all the times when I refused to see what you wanted me to see in order that I might be a channel of your love in the lives of those around me.  Forgive me my pride in thinking that somehow the ministries that I have designed are more important than the ones You have laid out before me.

The end or the beginning

Last week we were visiting Chao Lao Beach in Chanthaburi Province, about a 3 hour drive south of where we live. I got up early in the morning per my usual style and walked down the beach, hoping to catch a glimpse of the sunrise from the pier that I could see in the distance.

It took me about half an hour to get to the pier and as I was walking out to the end, I thought, “this is it, I can’t go any further, I’ve come to the end of my journey.” But then, I thought, it’s all a manner of perspective. To some people a pier not the end of the journey but only just the beginning of it.

Ingrid and family by the boat
that took them to Canada

Several years ago, such a boat ride marked the beginning of a new life for Ingrid’s family in Canada. To them, when they got on the boat, the journey was barely beginning.

But even as one begins such a trip, one has to keep in mind that such a segment of a journey is not necessarily easy. It could be dangerous (depending on the type of boat one is in) and there will likely be bouts of seasickness. But often we can’t get to our destination without boarding either a boat or a plane.

Our lives are often have piers in them as well. We get to points in our life and say, “well that was fun, but we’ve run into this obstacle, and we can’t go any further.” But maybe it might be the time to say something like, “Wow, looks like our journey is finally about to begin. Looks like it might be rough sailing for a while, but I can’t wait to get to the other side.”

After the nation of Israel had been wandering in the wilderness, they too, came upon an obstacle. They knew they were supposed to go to the land on the other side of the Jordan River, but the River was running at flood stage. Trying to get two million people across a flooding river would seem to be quite the challenge. But God had a plan. It did not involve a boat, but it did involve an ark.

So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Joshua 3:14-16 (ESV)

Right now, we feel like we are about to get on a boat at the end of the pier. We’ve been on a journey to bring the good news of Jesus to the people of Isaan. We did not expect that our journey would take us the way it did and we finally got to the end of a road where it looked like the journey was over. But there is a boat at the end of the pier with Ban Phruksa-Chachoengsao written on its bow. It seems that if we ride this boat for a while we will eventually get to our destination. We don’t know what the ride will be like, and we may get a little seasick at times. But the end of the pier we are on is not the end of our journey, but only the beginning.

Entrance sign to Ban Phruksa