Every day, we make countless choices, and each one shapes us. We have the freedom to choose our actions, but we should strive to align our choices with God’s will. If we truly seek Heaven, we must make sure we stay on the right road. Jesus is the way to Heaven, and we cannot reach it without Him. He is the navigator I want beside me as I travel the highway toward eternal life.
The first sin was not about eating an apple. It was Adam and Eve choosing their will over God’s. Every sin since then repeats that same pattern. When we sin, we tell God, “I know You don’t want me to do this, but I am going to do it anyway.”
In college, I shared an apartment with three other guys. Most of them were considerate, but one would occasionally blast his music in the middle of the night, even though he knew I was trying to sleep. He chose to entertain himself instead of caring about how it affected me. How often do we treat Jesus that same way? We know He is with us, yet we ignore Him and just do what makes us happy.
We can also take advantage of Jesus’ love and mercy. We may think, “Jesus will forgive me, so I’ll do this anyway.” Yes, He forgives when we are truly sorry. But what does that attitude do to our relationship with Him? I often think of Homer Simpson and Ned Flanders. Homer would borrow something and return it broken, or not return it at all. Ned patiently tolerated it, but viewers could see the strain it placed on their relationship.
We hunger and thirst for many things, yet we often try to satisfy ourselves with what only fills us for a moment. We indulge in distractions to pass the time and fight boredom. Many of us are familiar with the habit of doom scrolling. Our phones and media can entertain us, but they cannot nourish our souls. We need something deeper to feel truly fulfilled.
This Lent, I am committing to set aside time each day to speak with God. I attend daily Mass and meditate on Scripture for my blog, but I find myself missing the simple, honest conversation He desires. Although the world is loud and busy, we must choose to step away from the noise and rest in God’s presence.
Frank Sinatra sang “My Way,” and Bon Jovi echoed that sentiment in “It’s My Life.” They are talented artists, and their songs are memorable, but we should not adopt that message as our motto. We are unique, and God calls each of us to a specific path. Still, we are all His children trying to find our way home to Him. We will not find it by insisting on doing things our own way. We will find it by listening to our Father and following the light of Christ.
The road is not easy. God’s voice can be difficult to hear. But if we choose to speak with Him each day and truly listen, we will find Him waiting at the end of the highway to Heaven.
