His Footsteps Our Pathway
Come discover how the quiet details of Jesus’ earthly walk become a guide for navigating paths we’ve never traveled before.
Righteousness will go before Him,
And shall make His footsteps our pathway.
(Psalm 85:13)
A path can be a valuable thing to have. Especially in unknown territory, a path can make the difference between life and death. For that reason, the pathway of Jesus’ life is crucial. How He lived His life is of more than historical interest; it shows us what a perfectly human life would look like, in terms we can understand.
If we know the “abstract” principles of right and wrong, we should follow them. However, I have found that studying Jesus’ life brings those principles to life in a “personal” way. He is our great Exemplar. When I follow His footsteps, I am doing things not just because they’re right in theory but because that’s what He did!
Occasionally it takes wisdom to discern what Jesus’ example teaches and what it does not. The fact that He wore sandals does not mean they are the only footwear acceptable to God. Yet as we grow in spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:13-16), we find that we do a better job of seeing what Jesus was teaching us by His example.
Like many of you, I’ve been studying Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John since I was a child. In recent years, however, I’ve enjoyed studying these books in a better way, as if I had never seen them before. For one thing, I love my Lord as I never did before, and that has pulled me into the gospels with a hunger for every bit of knowledge about Him that I can glean. There is no incident of His that does not fascinate me and no word that fell from His lips that I do not love.
And yes, I’ve got a list of questions I’d like to ask Him when I see His face, questions that I presume my departed friend Paul Earnhart has already gotten the answers to. Once when he and I were studying, he said, “Gary, what do you make of the Lord cursing that poor fig tree? I have no idea what that’s about (Matthew 21:18-20).”
When the people of Israel were getting ready to enter Canaan, Joshua cautioned them to keep a respectful distance from the ark of the covenant but to follow it carefully because, he said, “You have not passed this way before” (Joshua 3:4). Similarly, we are to follow Jesus’ life, for He shows us a way that we have not traveled before. His footsteps are our pathway. We are foolish if we don’t study His life diligently and adhere to what it teaches us.
“The life of Christ is the highest rule for the faithful” (Thomas À Kempis).
Gary Henry - WordPoints.com