The Road Beckons is my result for the word prompt by Miss Kate. It’s the result of considering a word after a full day of work and conversation. I had such a lovely visit a friend this morning, and managed to get some good work done at home too! I love a day filled with accomplishment, don’t you? So, at the close of this day, I wanted to finish out the day by drawing out the thoughts of the day.
The Road Beckons
The road beckons
GPS tells me head south
Being directionally challenged
I blindly turned right
And found myself
Taking the scenic route
To visit a friend.
You gotta love
That rerouting bleep that
My phone emits when
Again I’ve failed to
Follow it’s instructions.
Sometimes I wish
That directions such
As North or South were as
Direct as right or left
And I wonder why my
GPS occasionally uses
Those less clear to me words.
This week I engaged in a
Discussion with a lady
Over the correctness or
Lack thereof with Calvinism
And following, or not following,
Calvinism is NOT a salvation issue
But denying the ultimate
Authority of God because
You can’t believe that a
Loving, caring God might do
Something you cannot fathom?
I struggle with that.
I have to admit
The struggle is real
It’s so easy to assume
That God won’t do something,
Or rather, won’t allow something
That doesn’t make sense
To our very human sensibilities.
And these discussions
Can do one of two things.
They can strengthen a person’s
Convictions/beliefs as they work
Through their points.
Or they can weaken a faith,
And leave a person
Struggling, making the
Road they travel harder
Than it needs to be.
So, do we in our
Eagerness to correct
Non-salvation issues
Make the narrow road we
Travel harder to navigate
Rather like a GPS?
And so, do we cause
Our fellow believers to
Take a more “scenic route”
As they work out their salvation?
God Word Speaks
1 Corinthians 8 encourages us to consider the needs of our weaker brothers/sisters in Christ. For us to not do things just because we can and are very assured of our salvation or convictions. We mustn’t cause stumbling in our fellow believers right?
Romans 14: 1-4
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-14
12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labour among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
This is a hard post, Anet, and I had to look up Calvinism, which seems to have a heavier meaning in the US than in the UK. Your analogy has made me pause and think about whether I make my words and thoughts more complex than they need be and so give others a problem. I’ll keep praying on that one!
yes, I know, stateside there’s this big deal about it all. I don’t understand it. But here in Canada, Calvinism isn’t so hardlined.
Praying we encourage one another versus re-routing them. Unless of course God is calling us to help them re-route! Cheers to the weekend!
Jennifer, FMF neighbor
yes, we do need to be mindful of God’s nudge, but sensitive in how we do so.
The road may be beckoning,
but the call is not for me.
It’s here I’ll face my reckoning,
and it’s here I’d rather be.
Escape was once appealing,
new faces and new sights,
but none of these revealing
the key to endless nights
of the pain beyond the measure
of my weary heart;
dun gray lead turned into treasure,
and God’s hand’s own art
that depicts a fading stand
which, perhaps, some understand.
which perhaps, some do. 🙂
Haha, I too am directionally challenged and wish directions would say left or right instead of north or south.
Seriously though, Amen to “Non-salvation issues
Make the narrow road we
Travel harder to navigate
Rather like a GPS?
And so, do we cause
Our fellow believers to
Take a more “scenic route”
As they work out their salvation?” Good Scriptures to back this up.
Thank you Sandra, directions should be made so much easier
It pains me to consider that something I did or said would drive others away from God.
Me too.
I always forget to add FMF 17
Annette, this is a great post, a great reminder to be gentle with fellow believers. We’ve had this in our church over the last couple of years over covid vaccinations – two very strong and opposing points of view and it had the potential to divide. I’m so glad our leaders knew to be gentle and careful and show the rest of us the way. Thanks for sharing. Kath, visiting from #3 this week.
Covid divisions are so very real aren’t they? It’s tough to walk through it well.
You know, you hit on something here that is so tough – salvation issues. That is part of what makes Calvinism something to be cautious of. I didn’t realize it could have different beliefs in different places. I guess that is what comes of man making the decisions about beliefs instead of solely relying on the Bible for doctrine. Maybe that is exactly what you are talking about in this on – making things harder for believers but if someone is believing something wrong, it doesn’t matter if you make it hard if they will search the scriptures for truth because they might then be saved.
there is something to be said about that… how can a person help another to search out the scriptures more? Good thought.