Over the years, Dads have taken a bad rap for not following directions in an instruction booklet or not asking for directions when lost. I smirk at the memes related to this, and often see myself! Detours are a natural part of life. Our journey is never a straight line. Life is filled with detours. Detours often take us down unknown roads and pathways, and sometimes they bring new opportunities.

In a spiritual sense, we can apply the same principle. We are all on a journey; we have a map and an intended destination. We also encounter detours. How we handle those detours often determines how we arrive at our intended destination.

One of the “detours” we have encountered over the past two years has been the Covid-19 pandemic. We faced ever-changing protocols, restrictions, debates over vaccines and vaccine passports, and the ever-present conspiracy theories. We have gone from funny memes to frustration, anger, and finally to division and conflict. But wherever you land on the spectrum, one thing is true, if we allow ourselves to get lost in the fog of endless debate, argument, and side issues, it will undoubtedly take us off course, and our focus will shift from being living witnesses for Christ to lesser things.

How do we navigate this detour and still stay the course? The Gospel of Mark gives us an account of two of the disciples who came to Jesus asking for a unique favour, a special place to sit beside Him in the Kingdom. When the other disciples heard of it, they were "indignant." They were livid, filled with anger towards these two who sought special favour for themselves. Jesus used the opportunity as a teaching moment, both for the disciples and for us today. Jesus said, “and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:44-45.) Jesus intentionally and voluntarily left heaven, laid aside for a time His rights to be born in human likeness that many would be reconciled back to the Father and spend eternity with Him.

Many of the freedoms and privileges we have often enjoyed have been restricted with the different pandemic protocols. It has led many to seek “their” rights in different ways. Unfortunately, the result has often been a dividing conflict among believers, in churches and even within families as we weigh into the fog of who sits on which side of the fence on any given topic within the pandemic sphere. All of which has shifted our focus as believers to lesser things as we become over-focused on the detour and forget the map that we have, God's Word. Jesus reminds us that even He, the Son of God, did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life for others. He was intentionally others-focused.

There is no easy answer to navigating detours. At times detours take us down unfamiliar roads. We react with caution, with fear, or at times, with a sense of adventure as to where this detour will lead, all the while keeping our focus on where we want to end up – our destination.

This month, my challenge to each of us is to look at this current detour in three ways.

First, God is sovereign; He is still in control. Covid was not a surprise for Him. His Word is still our guide, our map.
Second, God often uses the detours in life to present us with new opportunities to share the Gospel with those He came to save. Look for the opportunity to serve rather than to be served.
Third, we may be fearful of the detour, uncertain, or even angry at the loss of what we want but let us seek to be unified as the body. Jesus said, “by this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

Seeing Jesus in the detours!

Rev. Bill Allan
AGC President

2022: Stay the Course! - Navigating the Detours