E. Stanley Jones tells of a missionary who got lost in an African jungle surrounded by nothing but bush and patchy clearings. He came upon a native and asked if he could guide him out. The native said he could.
"All right," said the missionary, "show me the way."
The native said, "Walk," so they walked and hacked their way through unmarked jungle for more than an hour.
The missionary grew concerned. "Are you quite sure this is the way? Where is the path?"
The native said, "Bwana, in this place, there is no path. I am the path."
In this crazy jungle of a world, there is no path. Jesus is our path.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6).
Studies have shown that if you blindfold a man and ask him to walk in a straight line, he will start out well but will soon begin to turn one way or another, looping around in ever tightening circles. It is a phenomenon that has been demonstrated over and over again: without a fixed reference point we cannot keep a straight line.
The strange thing is that it feels like we're walking in a straight line. But we begin to loop and curve erratically – without ever knowing it. We need a fixed point to walk a straight line.
Robert Kulwich, for NPR, observes, "Without a corrective, our insides take over and there's something inside us that won't stay straight."
[Studies of this phenomenon appear in Chris McManus' book, Right Hand, Left Hand, The Origins of Asymmetry in Brains, Bodies, Atoms and Cultures (Phoenix, 2002).]
God’s word is that fixed point for our souls. Its truths are fixed – “forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens” (Ps. 119:89). Thus, it gives us a safe and accurate reference point for our lives.
A person who rejects God’s word as the source of truth may feel like they’re on the right road – they’re going straight – but inevitably they go astray. The Bible says there is a way that seems right to a man (think they’re going straight) but the end thereof is death (Proverbs 14:12).
Amazingly, Jesus didn’t point people to the fixed point, he claimed to be the fixed point. Jesus didn’t say “I know the truth” or “I can point you to the truth”, he said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6)– He is the sun by which we navigate our lives, the star by which we guide our path. He is our fixed point.
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2, BSB).
The CHRISTIAN POST reports that Geoff Turner, owner and chief pilot for Sky Sail Balloons of Asheville, NY, is planning on launching an 80’ tall hot air balloon emblazoned with an image of Jesus (as portrayed in the famous painting “The Risen Christ by the Sea”). The balloon is made from more than 2,000 square yards of fabric, has a volume of 105,000 cubic feet, and is as large as three averaged sized houses. It will be called “Risen!” and will fly over the skies of western New York state during the Easter season.
“The thought came to him,” reports the POST, “what better, more warm-hearted friendly way might people be introduced to Christ and the Good News, than with a Hot Air Balloon featuring this iconic artwork?”
*Click the link to source above to view a picture of the balloon.
Mr. Turner is clearly thinking outside the box in his efforts to share the message of Easter with as many as possible. The balloon, as it “rises” in the sky, will be a vivid object lesson of Jesus rising from the dead.
How will you “raise” the banner of Jesus this season for all the world to see?
“With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all” (Acts 4:33).