Susan LaffertyA divided heart leads to ruin. Fragmented loyalties weaken resolve.
Consider Solomon. Wise beyond his years. Or anyone else’s.
The divine instructions are detailed. Laid out so clearly. In two recorded encounters with his Maker. (1 Kings 3 and 9)
But he fools around.
Taking careless, measured steps.
Away from wholehearted devotion.
Limits. We fight restrictions.
Don’t tie us down. Hem us in. Hold us back.
The old lie seeps in from birth. All the way from the Garden. “Did God actually say, ‘Don’t eat this’?” (Genesis 3:1-7)
And asserting independence, we step subtly off the path. Veer inconspicuously outside the way of truth. Go our own way.
We’re entitled to this freedom. This pleasure.
So we think.
Ancient paths. The image fixed in my mind is a smooth clay trail in the bamboo forest. A path of my childhood. Worn by years of feet traveling from one ridge to the next. Winding through the valley. Around boulders and past simple thatch homes.
It’s an old path. A good path. That takes me where I need to go.