At the start of the new academic year, what have you begun to do, or taken up again? For me, the running trainers have been dusted off and I have been beginning my days with a short run. Today I went a route I used to follow, but this time I was met with a sign and an obstacle, preventing me following the usual way. My choices were to find a different way, choose a different route, or quit and go home.
In John 14:6, we read the words of Jesus, responding to his disciples who were questioning where Jesus was going, and how they could get there. I don’t think it’s just the early disciples that wanted to know a sense of direction and purpose in their lives. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no-one comes to the father but through me.”
‘The Way’ became the name given to the early followers of Jesus. We read in the book of Acts, that Saul and the other religious leaders actively opposed and tried to silence ‘The Way’. There was persecution and imprisonment for anyone who followed the teachings of Jesus and shared this good news with others.
When we consider the way to take, the following phrases come to mind. There is, “The path of least resistance”, and “The path less trod”. For the early disciples, they were trailblazers. They were the first to do what they did, with the words of Jesus - The Way, firmly in their minds. Whatever path you are facing at this time, create time and space to ask God to reveal the way he has set for you.
This week, as we return to school, to our own classrooms and a normal looking timetable, let us remember the words of Jesus and the challenge to put them into practice, as we build this term on a solid foundation.
