Which Direction Are We Headed?

I have a blood test about this time every year. I will not bore you with the details, but I will say that the results this year looked good. It is not that everything was ideal. One item definitely was not. But the encouraging part was that the figures were better than they had been a year ago, and far better than they had been two years ago. Physically, I seem to be headed in the right direction.

How is it with us spiritually?

It is easy to tell ourselves, “I still worship. I still pray. I still obey.” But how do things look if we ask different questions. “What is my direction? Am I praying more or less than in the past? Is my worship more or less fervent? Is my obedience more ready or more hesitant?”

As a truck speeds down the road it is not the person in the middle of the road that is in the greatest danger. Provided that he keeps walking, the person in the road when the truck first appears should be on the opposite sidewalk before the truck arrives. The person in greatest danger is the person headed toward the road, the one who, if he continues, will reach the road just as the truck reaches the point where he is crossing.

Too many of us take comfort that we are not in the devil’s clutches. We fail to realize that, while we are not yet firmly in his grip, it may be the direction we are headed.

Which way are we headed? Is our home more or less of a place of worship? Is our life more or less devoted to the Lord?

Physically, it is difficult to maintain a static level of health. We are normally either getting better or slipping back. Spiritually, change is the only constant. We are always either drawing nearer to God or drifting from him. Which is it? Which direction are we headed?