Decisions, decisions, decisions… life is full of them. “The Road”inspiration comes from motorcycle touring adventure in the southern Appalachian Mountains. There decisions unfold with the mountain curves and breezes. Riding airs out the soul leaving serenity in place of stress. Mountain roads and views put everything in proper perspective. Problems tend to loose their weight leaving what’s important behind. I’m left with thoughts of God, family, friends, forests, roads, motorcycles, and bears.
Perspective, Path and Purpose…
We are all traveling a spiritual journey. We are constantly making “steering wheel” decisions. Our final destination is indicated by our interaction with others which is a reflection of our relationship with God. see Matthew 7
Each one of us has a God given purpose. Some are called for battle. Some are called for teaching or healing. Many are called just to be a good neighbor. see Romans 15:2
Our military, firefighters and law enforcement warriors are following a high calling. They too often lose their mortal lives, limbs or mental faculties in pursuit of peace, respect, safety and security for the rest of us.
Warriors battling for good should never be taken for granted. The good neighbor warriors that lift us up, the distribution warriors that supply us with sustaining goods, the environment warriors that manage our waste, the media warriors that keep us informed of the truth, the teaching and healing warriors that help us grow and heal, the political warriors that honor the people and especially the military, fire and policing security warriors that physically protect us from evil’s many selfish schemes.
Our good and purpose driven warriors deserve far more reward from us than what they typically get. It’s regrettable that we tend to hold various performing artists of stage, screen and sports in higher regard. That tendency is a sad reflection of our culture. We are more focused on entertainment than we are well-being.
The Road We Travel
God commands us to treat each other how we want to be treated. We ALL are God’s family! see James 1:19
God gave each one of us independent thought. We can choose to be inspired by the abundant miracles in life we encounter or we can pick our inspiration from a perceived single endpoint of death… everything points from and to nothing. If we choose death as an end, we won’t mind lying, cheating and disrespecting others. That destructive road is well traveled. see Matthew 7:13
But if we choose to focus on life, then we will want to respect others and enjoy inspiration from even the “simplest” things that God has provided.
Then Job replied to the LORD: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:1-6 NIV
The Road Ahead
In the above BRP image capture from my GoPro, we are heading north. North is up. Up is figuratively toward Heaven. I can see the shape of a cross in a tree that’s up and around the bend on the horizon. I enjoy finding subtle messages from God like that. It’s affirmation for me because that’s what I choose to see.
I see God reflected in everything. Also in the above BRP image, the reflection of the sun on the camera lens is another pareidolia that I choose to see… God explains to us in His Word and when we study the intricacies of life and the universe that He is beyond our understanding. God seeks us when we seek Him. And when we seek Him, He rewards us infinite times over what we deserve.
I see the sun reflecting on the lens, pointing at the tree forming a cross, as a reflection of God… another pareidolia.
The Road Ends
God teaches us how to behave in Scripture through Jesus. i.e., see Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7 God also tells us that He loves us through Scripture (see 1 John 4:16) and His love is also revealed to us by the world we live in. God’s signature “fingerprints” are everywhere. So we are without excuse. see Romans 1:20 He explains through Scripture (see Job 36:26) and we learn through our own scientific study that we cannot fully understand Him nor can we explain life’s intricately designed detail without Him. see Job 37:5
We do well to listen.
