The Same Direction
“You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction.”
Ephesians 4:4 (MSG)
Have you ever charged off in the wrong direction?
One of the most famous battles in British history was about a group of cavalry who, in 1854 during the Crimean War, went the wrong way and just under half of them ended up being killed. The writer, George Orwell, of Animal Farm fame, noted, “the most stirring battle poem in English is about a brigade of cavalry that charged in the wrong direction” (from Orwell’s 1941 The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius). The poem he was referring to is The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. “Into the valley of death rode the six hundred”, wrote Tennyson, “Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them, Volley’d and thunder’d”. The problem was that they had been misinformed due to bad communication. Instead of chasing a retreating group of enemy soldiers, they charged into the thick of battle. “Not tho’ the soldier knew, Someone had blunder’d: Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die…”
Perhaps we can all relate to this idea. We can be sincerely wrong for whatever reason, and head off without looking back down the wrong road. We assume something to be right, and it isn’t. We are told to go somewhere and follow misguided orders. Maybe we have told others to go a certain direction, and later realize we made a mistake. It happens, does it not?
Paul was concerned that not only the church in Ephesus, but also the whole body of Christ, would move together in the same direction. Some of them may have been charging ahead of the others, some chatting distractedly along the way, some going at a slower speed than the rest, some stragglers lingering behind: the important point was to be on the same road and following the leader, Jesus. Eugene Peterson, who wrote the Message rendition of the Bible, phrased the unity section of Ephesians 4 in terms of direction, as we can see above.
Don’t charge off in the wrong direction.
Let’s stay together, focussed on Christ, moving along the same road, sticking to the right direction.
Prayer
Helps us, Father, as followers of your son, Jesus Christ, to follow his lead, to travel together on the same road and in the same direction. In Jesus’ name
Amen
Study by James Henderson
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About the Author:
James Henderson is the National Ministry Leader for Grace Communion International in the UK and Ireland. You are welcome to attend any of our local congregations. For details of your nearest local congregation, check on our website, www.wcg.org.uk under the ‘Churches’ tab, or ring +44 (0)1858 437099.
Contact:
Email: admin@daybyday.org.uk