In an area near Daytona Beach, Florida, an exit off of Interstate 95 had to be closed for three hours due to 100 homing pigeons falling off a truck.  They created a driving hazard for motorists because they refused to move.  Because they roost at night, they stayed on the road, until bright lights from vehicles startled them and caused them to fly into the air, which created a driving hazard.  Officials said it was a bad situation because the homing pigeons could not find their way home.  An animal control officer said that her job was to help animals find their way home, whether they are covered in fur, scales, or feathers.

        “Words from Above” in the Bible tell us in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”, which is just another way of saying that everyone born into the world is lost, lost in their sins.  It is unfortunate that people in this lost condition are not able to find their way home, which means they cannot find their way out of their lost condition.  In Luke 19:10, Jesus made it very clear that He “came to seek and to save the lost.”  Jesus is fully aware that the lost cannot find their way home on their own, so He came to this earth to show them their way home.  In fact, He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No man can come to the Father except by Me.”

        What this all means is that finding our way home is finding our way back to God the Father in heaven, and the only way we can find our way back to God the Father is through Jesus.  In other words, to show people the way to heaven is to show them Jesus.  This is why Jesus gave His disciples what is called the “Great Commission”, which instructs them to teach all nations everything that He had taught them. 

        Experts have suggested that homing pigeons have some kind of an internal compass that leads them back to their home base.  Likewise, man was created from the dust of the ground, and then God breathed into his nostrils “the breath of life” so that he became a living soul.  Actually, when God breathed into Adam the breath of life, He was breathing a part of Him-self into him.  So, what this really means is that God “installed” a spiritual compass inside man, something within him that would reach out to the Creator above him. The disciples of Jesus have been instructed to bridge the gap between lost man and God our Savior.

Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  For informa-tion, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.