Recently I drove on an old familiar highway that had just been resurfaced and widened, but had not yet been striped and marked for direction. The drive across the lanes was smooth and easy, almost like riding on air.

It was fun at first, but very quickly that feeling turned to fear. Traffic was coming toward me and suddenly I realized I didn't know where the center turn lanes began or ended. Within a moment I became very confused and disoriented with this massive, unmarked black expanse that lay ahead of me. Familiarity had quickly changed to uncertainty, and without the guidelines, I lost my bearings.

In the midst of all this confusion, I couldn't help but see the parallel with our Christian lives today. So often we hear people exclaim, "No one is going to tell me what to do!" Few are willing to submit to rules and guidelines, without which there is chaos and confusion. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:33 that God is not the author of confusion, but of order and peace.

When we say we don't want to be told how to live, we are rejecting what God set in motion as a way for mankind to live. Everything in life is governed by a law of some sort. When we throw a ball in the air, it comes back down because it is governed by God's law of gravity.

When we reject authority over us, we are putting ourselves on a very dangerous spiritual highway. We are opening ourselves up to the wavelengths of our adversary, the devil. I am not suggesting that we not question things, because in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 we are told to prove all things. However, to prove all things does not mean to reject authority. How can God work with us if we are not willing to submit to the guidelines that He has set in motion for us?

Just as our highways are governed by laws for our physical safety and well-being, so are we to be governed by the laws of God for our spiritual safety and well-being. If we follow the physical guidelines, we have a better chance of living a longer life on this earth.

How much greater is our reward if we obey the laws that govern the journey on our spiritual highway?

— Sandy Letellier
Covington, Louisiana, congregation