Our Own Path

Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.
-Psalm 34:3 (NIV)

I grew up in the mountains of Colorado. Near my home, a canyon road begins as a single highway and then splits into two roads that appear to go in different directions. However, the roads actually encircle a mountain and then re-join in a state park. Although they end in the same place, the routes are unique in beauty, terrain, and history.

In a similar way, early believers in Corinth were divided. They were quarreling over whom they should follow. Some said, "I follow Paul," while others said, "I follow Apollos." However, Paul stressed that he and Apollos were only servants, saying, "Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who gives the growth" (1 Cor. 3:7, nrsv).

A common temptation among believers is to talk more about a particular church or leader than about Christ. Perhaps we think our journey in faith is the best way to Christ. The two routes to the state park remind me that although we journey with other believers to a common destination, we are individually unique creations of God with our own stories and our own path to walk. Some day our paths will converge and we will discover that we were each on the right path.

by Barbara Gail Bliss (Colorado, USA)