“How long before we get there? How many more miles?”
Carol and Anne were awfully tired. The family had spent all day in the car going to Aunt Beth and Uncle Steve’s house. It had been exciting crossing the bridge from the United States into Canada and going through customs. But now, a few hours later it was too dark to see anything, and they were tired.
Daddy was tired, too, but probably more tired of answering the girls’ questions. He pulled to the side of the road and got out a road map and the directions Aunt Beth had mailed to them. As he studied the map and the directions, he discovered a shorter way to get there than the way Aunt Beth had suggested. So at the next exit they got off the highway, and Daddy told the girls it should only be another five miles by taking this “shortcut.”
Carol and Anne were so glad to hear this and started cleaning up the back seat that was cluttered with all their books and games.
They had been following a country road for several miles when they saw a big orange sign off in the distance. As they got closer they could see the road was blocked off and that the orange sign said “DETOUR!”
“Daddy, what does that mean?” asked Carol.
“I guess the bridge is out, and we’ll have to follow the orange detour signs to get around it and back onto this road again,” Daddy answered.
So Daddy turned off the road and onto another, following the big orange signs. They drove for miles and miles until they saw an orange sign pointing down another road. It seemed like they were driving in circles. Mother kept asking, “Are you sure we’re still going in the right direction?”
On and on they drove. Again Daddy decided that by following the signs they were going too far out of the way, so he decided to find a shorter way. They turned down a gravel road, but came to a dead end in a farmer’s field.
“I think we’re lost, Daddy,” said Anne.
“I think we are, too,” Daddy admitted. “I guess I should have followed Aunt Beth’s directions from the start instead of trying to find a shorter way.”
They turned around and went all the way back to the highway and then started following Aunt Beth’s directions. This was the right way to go, and soon they pulled into the driveway. As they walked into Aunt Beth’s house, Anne sighed, “I sure am glad to be here!”
Many people today think they can choose which way they want to take to get to heaven. There is a verse in the Bible that says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man...” (Prov. 14:1212There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12)) and this is just what Anne and Carol’s daddy thought when he tried to find a shorter way. He thought his way was better, but it wasn’t. Many boys and girls think that being good and going to Sunday school will get them to heaven, but they are on the “wrong road!” Jesus said, “I am the Way.” You must put your trust in the Lord Jesus, and believe that He died for your sins. These are the right “directions.”
ML-03/14/1982