.

When you run in these races if you’re the lead runner (not me) you follow a lead car or bike. These lead cars have all the directions and know exactly where to go in order to make the race the exact distance. They have to be trusted and they have to know the course perfectly. Runners trust them without question.

On this particularly day there were thousands of people running in this race. We all started off and faithfully just like always the leaders of the race followed the lead car and we all followed the lead runners. We finished the race and felt with certainty that we had just run 13 miles. One problem, we had not.

You see the lead car took a wrong turn and no one caught it until the end of the race. Thus we all followed and went in the wrong direction. Each and every one of our times was wrong because unknowingly we had followed a leader that did not know where he was going. We finished the race but had gotten lost along the way.

In the world in which we live there are lots of people following the wrong leaders. They belong to cults, they trust in leaders that appear to know the way to peace, love and eternity in heaven. Unfortunately these leaders are following the wrong map and thousands of people are blindly following them into destruction.

During the race I just followed the guy in front of me; I trusted that everyone in front of me knew where they were going. In reality they too had no clue they were heading in the wrong direction. We were all duped.

People in this world are searching for what is missing in their lives. They will follow whatever looks good at the moment. They are eager to find the love and hope they find missing in their day to day existence. They put their trust in people. They are just following the crowd. Big mistake.

We need to be careful to make sure we are following the right leader and that is Christ. The crowd, even the so-called spiritual crowd will head off in the wrong direction on many occasions. People will guide you in the wrong direction even with good intentions. We must be very careful that we follow the only one who has the way to the Father, Jesus Christ. (John 14:6)

What a horrible day it would be if we spent our lives following everyone and found at the end of the day that we had taken the wrong path. For our lives there is only one lead driver and that should be Christ. Avoid the temptation to follow the crowd.

We are all heading for one destination or the other, one leads to heaven and the other to hell. Make sure your following the right leader; Christ.

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

John 14:6, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:1-5 as well)

Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank you that you have given your son as our savior. Help us to follow Him completely. We pray for those who are following people, religion and possessions in life, we pray they will find you and follow you only. In Christ Name, Amen.