I’m not sure if this actually happened on Route 66, but it’s quite possible that it did. Several years before I came along, my mother and father were traveling by car out West with his Aunt Margaret. (By the way, it’s a weird thing as a young kid to hear about Aunt Margaret for years only to eventually meet her and hear her refer to herself as Peg.)
Aunt Margaret was famous for having a lousy sense of direction, and back at the time of their road trip, the Interstates had minimal signage compared with today. But east and west are pretty easy to sort out at either end of the day (with the sun nearer the horizon). After they stopped for gas and a bite to eat in the late afternoon, Aunt Margaret confidently swung onto the road, pointing in the direction from which they’d just come. Mom and Dad had to demand that she stop the car and let them out because she was convinced that driving into the setting sun was a totally logical way to get to the State of New York (home) from Arizona. Good thing they weren’t traveling North and South.
Life’s Journey is full of all manner of challenges. Some are imposed on us by someone else’s overconfidence. Some seem to be random. And others may be due to a lack of planning or poor decisions on our part. Thankfully, the Bible provides us with a map for how to travel well by relying on the Lord and the Truth that He imparts to us through His Word.
In Joshua 24, the Israelites are instructed to consider the direction they will follow in life carefully. While verse 24:15 makes for neat wall art near your home’s entry, there’s a MUCH more significant admonition here. Follow the gods of the World, or follow the God who has brought you deliverance. Sometimes, the choice doesn’t actually seem that simple in the moment.
Ruth and Naomi share a literal as well as figurative journey where the harder path (at least one of leaving behind your family and your nation) is chosen out of loyalty and commitment. Read the whole book. It’s short but full of Truth and relevant allegories, including following someone who is following the One True God. When you choose God’s path, He will often bless from generation to generation, despite the initial tragedy of 3 women being widowed. Read the Book of Ruth and learn how to straighten your path by following the Lord.
In 1 Kings chapter 2, David instructs Solomon to “keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies.” Good advice for Life’s Journey as a leader. But as we read on, Solomon (for all his wisdom) fails to fully follow this advice and chooses to intermarry with foreign women and entertain their gods.
One generation later, all of Israel is divided between the North and the South.