Son rays...

Three weeks ago, my hubby and I were basking in the warm, golden Jamaican sunshine. Ahh. It seems so long ago. The snow, wind and breathtakingly low temperatures of these past weeks have made vacation a distant memory.

Earlier this week my car thermometer measured -6.

That's right.

Minus.

Six.

Degrees.




I long to be back in our tropical paradise. So as I sit by our wood pellet fireplace and feel its heat warm my soul, I daydream about the sandy beach of Little Bay, Jamaica. As I close my eyes, I can picture the golden sunsets across the Caribbean Sea. And I remember a special sunset where God spoke to me through his glorious creation.

(This pic was a different evening and didn't quite capture the path)

One late afternoon, we lounged on our beach chairs and watched the sun slide slowly toward the horizon. The sky was clear, the breeze was warm and the sea was calm. Several minutes before sunset, the sun's reflection blazed a path across the water and onto the damp sand of the shore, directly in front of us. The mesmerizing strip was narrow, but undeniably straight. Perfect and beautiful, it seemed to invite us in. The path shimmered only for a minute or two, and then the golden ball dipped into the sea, extinguishing the path in its wake.

God reminded me of how he calls us. He asks us to follow the narrow road. The one road. The only road to the Father. His path is blazing with the light of the Son. Jesus is the way. The only way. Many will be invited, but few will follow this narrow path to the Father.

We're told about the path in the Bible. First, here, in Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV):

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

And then we are encouraged to follow it again in Ephesian 4:2-6 (The Message):

I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.

Quit lounging and join the journey.