Which Road do you take?

"A professor stood before his class of twenty senior organic biology students about to hand out the final exam."I want to say that it's been a pleasure teaching you this semester. I know you've all worked extremely hard and many of you are off to medical school after summer. So that no one gets their GPA messed up because they might have been celebrating a bit too much this week, anyone who would like to opt out of the final exam today will receive a 'B' for the course."There was much rejoicing in the class as students got up, walked to the front of the class, and took the professor up on his offer. As the last taker left the room, the professor looked out over the handful of remaining students and asked, "Anyone else? This is your last chance." One final student rose up and opted out of the final.The professor closed the door and took attendance of those students remaining. "I'm glad to see you believe in yourself," he said. "You all get 'A's." How many have taken the easy way out?The short road, the easy path, the light load, all lead to lower grades in the school of life."

Fear of the unknown...comfort in the certainty...which road do you take? It's not so much about the final result as it is the experience of getting there. How many times has failure inspired success, built strength, developed determination, and led to an even greater accomplishment. When we follow Christ there are many times when the easy way seems like success. We've got a new person coming to church...our giving is up 4% this year, we sent a team to New Orleans for the first time. Is that what God is challenging us with or are we simply satisfied with what we can see? What if we fail? What if we don't achieve what is visible? Ever think that those failures could open brand new opportunities that could reveal even more powerful examples of God's grace and guidance?

It's not just believing in our selves it's having the faith to trust God that God knows what needs to happen. We are given the Free Will to make choices and we can use it as an excuse not to do something 0r to let go and trust that God is truly present. Part of that trust is realizing that just because things don't go our way doesn't mean that God is not there...it could be that because God is there we are being led to safety and sanctuary. A "B" is a great grade...but...