​John 6:68 (NIV) “Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’”
 
Recently, I took a trip out of state with my family. Travel with three kids under seven years old is always a bit hairy. When travel in unfamiliar cities is added to this mix, stress is increased exponentially.
 
At the beginning of the trip, my youngest son decided to share his bronchitis with my middle son. Thankfully, our doctor called a prescription into the nearest pharmacy to us, two states away. I helped my wife put the kids down for the night and then jumped into the vehicle to get the prescription.
 
After squeaking through the doors before they closed, I typed the return address into my phone so I would not get lost. It was dark. The streets were unorganized and busy. 
 
I could give all the excuses I wanted. The truth is: I ignored my GPS, and I took a wrong turn.
 
Suddenly, I was not going where I needed to be going. I did not know where I was. I did not know how to get back.
 
Thankfully, my GPS does a great job of redirecting me. I was glued to that map for the rest of the trip and safely deposited the medicine in my wife’s hands.
 
So often, we forget who has the words of eternal life. We start listening to the culture, to the government, to our friends, to our family, to our church. We listen to music, movies, books, and magazines. We model our lives after all those things and do not get fulfilled. We look at our lives and wonder where we have ended up.
 
We could make excuses. We could talk about the busyness of our lives. The uncertainty of our lives. We could talk about priorities. We could talk about health issues. We could talk about expectations.
 
We could talk about everything in this life that distract us from looking at Jesus Christ, the One who has the words of eternal life. Through the Bible, He provides directions for us as we navigate the crazy, confusing life we live.
 
We could talk about those distractions. But instead, we should refocus on the one giving directions and follow him so we can safely arrive home.

​1 Corinthians 15:17 “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins….”
 
Rumor is that Albert Einstein said, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” According to this definition, we, as humans, are naturally insane. I’ll own it. I catch myself doing things that the generations before tried and proved unsuccessful. I do the things my wife has shown me do not achieve the results I want. Yes, I am insane.
 
Hopefully, we notice our insanities and outgrow them. Hopefully, we learn from history and break the cycle of actions that have been proven destructive.
 
But there is one insanity that humanity has willingly claimed for over six thousand years. We have tried to work our way into eternity by our strength. Religions have come and religions have gone, all based upon the belief that we can achieve our salvation. However, none of these religions worked. None of these religions solved the root cause of the human condition but merely doomed humanity to an endless cycle of doing the same thing repeatedly, expecting different results. Insanity.
 
Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the Garden of Eden, choosing to supply for their own perceived need instead of trusting the God who declared he would provide for all needs. They broke the single commandment given and, in the process, declared God a liar. From that moment on, each human has been born a sinner and has willingly chosen to sin.
 
Our sin separates us from our creator for all eternity because a holy God cannot have sin near him. His very essence drives it away.
 
People try to return to God’s favor through good works, religious rituals, and family association. However, all this good does not clear away our sins. Our sins separate us from God, and all the good we might do does not change that fact.
 
Enter Jesus Christ. He introduces something different: He never sinned. Instead, He took our sins on Himself and died in our place, so whoever believes in Him and His sacrifice will be forgiven and guaranteed eternity with Him. He calls us to give up on the work we try to do and rest in what he did.
 
Why join humanity in their insanity when we could join Christ in His life?