This Maze We Call Life

Ever felt lost, alone or trapped? Have you ever felt like life is just one continuous maze?  You know the ones I am talking about, you start at one end and then aimlessly follow different paths until you find your way out. Just for a minute imagine you find yourself at the entrance to one of these mazes. Think about it standing all alone, the anticipation and excitement. Followed by fear and uncertainty. Just you, armed with your desire to get to the end, to win the prize, to cross the finish line. Do you have what it takes? There are so many paths, so many choices, some filled with love and happiness. Others filled with darkness and disappointment. What are the right choices, whom do you befriend along the way, who knows the way to the prize? What even is the prize? We often find ourselves in this maze of life, confused and lost. See, we are all born into this maze. A world created for us to navigate, to find our way.  We didn’t choose this maze or the starting point. It was chosen for us. In fact, this life, with all of its paths and dead ends is as a gift. What we decide to do inside this maze, how we decide to act or live, and the paths we choose well now, that is our free will.  See God dignifies us with free will, the power to make decisions of our own rather than have God or fate predetermine what we do. In Genesis 1:26 it says that God created humans in his image. This separates us from animals that act mainly on instinct. To a great extent our free will determines our future. It allows us to decide for ourselves where we go, the paths we choose. However, with free will comes great responsibility and if not careful, well this maze can get even more twisted and darker and we can find ourselves lost, depressed, addicted and lonely. Even in the beginning, far before all of the temptations of today, man struggled with free will. In Genesis 2:17 God says, “In the day that you eat of it [the tree] you shall surely die. See even Adam and Eve had their own free will, their own path to choose and because of the path chosen they found themselves running from God. They were lost and sin was born.  Adam and Eve in the simplest of times struggled with free will. Like all of us, they faced temptation. Like us, they had to face a serpent (Satan). An evil like no other, one who tries to deceive us, lie to us, make us believe that even the darkest paths are safe.  It is the choices we make that determine our path. These choices determine the obstacles we must overcome and ultimately determine our prize at the end of the maze. As I think about the different paths to choose, two come to mind rather quickly. The first is the path of “Hope”. A desire to want something to happen or be true or a desire with an expectation of obtainment or fulfillment. The word hope is mentioned 129 times in 121 verses in the Bible. Hope is not a bad thing. Hope is the driving force for many. Sadly, hope is all some individuals have or all that they may know. Hope is what gets many of us out of bed, makes us look forward to the day’s events and drives us towards our goals and ultimately keeps us working through the maze looking for the exit. However, hope alone can be dangerous, even reckless. With hope sometimes, there is no plan, no map, and no guiding principles. Hope can sometimes fall short of expectations. Hope can lack certain things like trust, confidence and a sureness that will be required to overcome obstacles as we navigate this maze of life. It would be easy to get lost or become hopeless and lose our way in this maze even as we read in 1 Corinthians 13:13, where it states three things will last forever – faith, hope and love. Two of the three greatest gifts are faith and hope, listed separately. Hope does not require any conviction, hope doesn’t require any belief, hope is not a means to an end, and this is what leads me to the second chosen path. Faith. Faith, is a path that will lead the way. See faith requires an allegiance; it requires trust, devotion and an unyielding conviction. Faith is deliberate, it is defined not just an expectation or belief that there is a way but that there is only one-way. One exit, one ending. The question becomes what do we put our faith in. Luke 1:37 says this…”For nothing will be impossible with God.” So I ask this, why not put your faith in God? Do we not want to do the impossible; do we not desire to conquer the maze? Do we not want the prize at the end of this maze? Is there an end? What even is the prize? I believe that faith can make the maze easier to navigate. I would even argue that faith is like the road map to the maze. In Proverbs 3:5-6 you will find this, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. BAM!! Your road map, your atlas to life is this…Trust in the lord and he will make straight your paths! The question remains where is the finish line? What is the prize? Why is it that we all roam aimlessly at times through this maze called life? John 3:16 tells us this….“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. Eternal life in a place called Heaven. A place where the streets are made of gold, the gates made out of pearls and the walls made of precious jewels. Along the way I think faith provides us with these as well, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control all of the spirits of the Holy Ghost. Life is hard; no one ever said it was easy. It is messy, dirty and at times downright ugly. If you let it, life will eat you up and spit you out. It will leave you lost in a maze of deception and lies. It can make you depressed, worried and completely miserable. Remember, you may not be able to see over the walls of the maze but there is a reason I believe they do not have tops and that is so you can look to the Heavens and find faith, your road map to the finish line. Where we can dance and rejoice in streets of gold.