The only pathway forward is with Christ

Jim Honeycutt

Chaplain-Baptist Minister

Over the past few months, I have found myself stopping and reintroducing myself to friends about town. It seems my long hair and beard have thrown a few folks off in recognizing who they are passing on the street. 

I know it can be hard when one day you see a guy clean shaven, and a short time later looking like I do now. 

Just the other day, I drove past the Baptist Church on Prairie Lea and a lady I have known for 30 years was standing outside, talking to friends in the parking lot. I let down my window, stuck my head out, hollered, nothing but strange stares were cast my way. So, I turned around and pulled in. The ladies gathered themselves and watched me closely as I got out of my truck. Calling to the group, “Good Morning Ladies,” instantly, I received smiles of recognition. 

It was not my face that brought about my welcome, though each one knew me, it was the sound of my voice. We all stood around laughing about it, with the ladies sharing with me who they thought I was when I first pulled up. 

My favorite was the insurance cave man comparison. 

But I can say one thing about being incognito, I get to learn how people treat me when they don’t recognize who I am. It has been eye opening. 

Old friends, those who have known me for years, see past the facial distractions, though sometimes it takes a moment. But they put together other clues, like my eyes, the way I smile or the way I walk and stand to see who I am. They know my characteristics.

I have done that too! 

It can be awkward when someone you should know is talking to you with your mind blank in the identity department. Scrolling through a catalog of pictures in your brain, looking for a match, you completely miss most of what is being said to you. 

Hang on to that thought.

My father, Walter, was a unique individual. He stood out in a crowd because of his large girth and broad smile. His face of love is etched in my memory. I look forward to the day we are reunited before Christ. Yet, the greatest longing I have in my heart, in regards to my father, is not found on his face. It comes from within him, it is the sound of his voice. 

The voice that spoke love, the voice that spoke discipline, the voice that called me his son. How those words engraved upon my soul have steadied my mind on so many occasions. When hostile words by hateful mongers are thrown my way, my father’s words of encouragement and strength ring within my ears. These words he spoke, the words of life he offered, were learned, taught by Jesus’ love through the reading of Scripture.

My ears tuned to my father’s voice of love, now a memory.

In my heart, I hear another voice, I hear my Heavenly Father’s voice. 

What once began with Jesus’s whisper of love, is becoming a resounding hallelujah! 

I am learning day by day how to recognize the different ways He speaks. Like a parent who teaches their young one to communicate, looking forward to the day they share conversations as mature adults, my Lord has given me opportunity to learn His voice. 

In the Holy Scriptures, I see the Character of Jehovah, I see His desire for man and the need for a Savior.

So, a question I ask myself…

If I fail to learn of the character of God, if I am unwilling to hear His voice, failing to respond when I do, what makes me think I will know how God is working around me? How can I talk about a God I do not know personally? I can tell you what I think, but in the light of eternity that’s not going to cut it, is it? 

But if I open my mind, reading and meditating on the Words of Life found in Scripture… If I open my heart to the Words of Life spoken by The Holy Spirit… If I extend my hand to The Word of Life risen from the dead… then when God speaks, I won’t be fumbling through a rolodex in my mind trying to decide who’s talking. Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice.”

My friend, if it were possible, I would do more than encourage you, I would give what I have received. And in some regards I am… but the pathway forward for us all, the pathway to fullness in Christ, only comes by spending time getting to know Jesus intently, personally, completely. It’s one thing not to recognize God now, it’s another when He doesn’t recognize you at the day of His coming. Do you hear His voice, do you recognize His face? Me you can afford not to know.