Psalm 27:11a
A STRAIGHT LINE
When I graduated from the University of Tennessee (yes, my blood runs orange!) many years ago, my first job was teaching science and math on the junior high level. Math is one of those subjects people either love or hate. The subject attracts me because I love order (ask my kids and husband). My students had to learn many math concepts and one of them was the definition of a straight line. Simply, it is the distance between two points.
Look around your surroundings. Aren’t we obsessed with straight lines? We make sure pictures on a wall are “hung straight,” we walk a “straight line,” or by keeping an eye on the fence post (farming term) a field is plowed and planted in “straight rows.” To me, straight lines give order and direction.
Isn’t that true for our own lives? A straight path set before us by God makes things easier, less messy and keeps us out of trouble. But, it requires something from us: a teachable spirit and an obedient heart. Straight paths keep us safe because it is a pathway designed by God, free of pitfalls. Also, it is a map or guidebook to assist us with direction in life’s journey.
Max Lucado stated in his book, Because of Bethlehem, “In order to find Jesus, every one of us needs direction and God gives it.” Our paths set before us by God point us to Him and His great love for us. This Christmas season, remember God loved us so much He came into this world as a Savior, a straight line to Him through Baby Jesus.
–Penny Oliver