A dear friend of mine was still in-utero when his father died. His father said to his mother on his deathbed, “be sure to teach this baby about Jesus so that I can meet him one day in heaven when we’re both with Jesus.” That meeting has yet to occur, but, my friend knows Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. His father left his mother with a clear vision and a clear path, to share Jesus with their unborn baby because he knew that was the only hope for anyone’s eternity.

Do our kids and grandkids have a clear path? Do they know what the most important thing is? Or do we cause confusion in pointing them towards things that may be “good” in the moment, but are insignificant in terms of eternity?

I’m not sure I always have a clear path. I am sure I do not always provide a clear path for my children. But here’s some questions that swirl in my mind as I consider what goes into making a clear path:

1. How do we spend our time? Our time is allotted based on what we deem important. When we have two things competing for our time, the thing we choose is what we deem most important. Over and over we make these choices and fill our days. Is how we spend our time making the path clear?
2. How do we spend our money? Our money follows our values. Do we spend large sums on recreation, vacations, or nice “stuff”, using our dollars to serve ourselves and promote materialism? Do we give our dollars generously, giving in sacrificial ways to serve the Kingdom and promote the caretakers of God’s resources idea? Is how we spend our money making the path clear?
3. What do we talk about? Are the things of God on our lips? Do we talk about them as we sit at home and as we go about life (Deuteronomy 6:7)? Or do we avoid them in favor of talking about anything and everything else especially the trivial, temporary or comfortable? Is what we talk about making the path clear?
4. How do we see people? Do we see them as hard to get along with? To be tolerated? Pawns to be used? Or image-bearers of God Himself? Do we place appropriate value on each and every person we encounter regardless of our interactions with them or the choices that they make? Is how we see and treat people making the path clear?
5. How do we treat things of God—worship, Bible study, prayer, Christian fellowship, and sanctification? Do we dread, mope, resent, complain, lament, or completely ignore the things of God? Do we welcome, praise, love, accept, protect, support, celebrate, or pursue the things of God? Is how we treat the things of God making the path clear?

The purpose of the path is to lead one in the route they are to go. God promises to lead us in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake (Psalm 23:3) It is our job to not crowd the path with things that make it unclear where to set our feet. It is a task we are only able to do through the Holy Spirit. I have some clearing to do. I’m guessing you do too.