In 1951, Walt Disney released his 13th animated feature, the classic Alice in Wonderland. The story, derived from Lewis Carroll’s wonderful book titled Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland (written 1865) with a few additional elements from Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass (written in 1871), tells the story of a young girl’s dream-adventure having fallen into a rabbit hole and finding herself in another land entirely, Wonderland.

In the midst of her adventure, the young girl, Alice, comes to a crossroads and doesn’t know which direction to go. Asked by the Cheshire Cat at that moment, “Well, where are you going?” Alice replies, “I don’t know.” Wryly the cat answers, “Well, if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will do very nicely.” This brief, seemingly innocuous answer contains some deep insights for us today as we seek to live lives to the glory of God… but more on that in a bit.

The Apostle Paul, in the fifth chapter of his letter to the church in Ephesus, challenged believers in Christ to be imitators of Him, leaving behind the works of the flesh (darkness), and fellowship with those who participate in those things, and to walk in the truth (light). In the midst of this instruction, Paul writes, “See then that you walk circumspectly…” This is an exhortation for followers of Christ to not only walk in a certain manner  –  “circumspectly”:  carefully, purposefully, thoughtfully, cautiously, watchfully, prudently, guardedly, vigilantly, sincerely – but also to be sure they do so  –  “see then”:  make effort to, be sure to, purpose to. He equates the one who does this to one who is wise, while the one who does not do so he likens to the fool.

I know by now you must be wondering, “Where are you going with this, Steve? What do Alice in Wonderland and the Apostle Paul’s words have in common? What is so insightful and instructional in either of these?” Well, simply this – how often do we really stop to think about where we are going and why we are going there, let alone what it is the Lord would have us do when we get there? More directly, how purposeful a life do you, or I, live in Christ?

Unfortunately, the world we live in pushes us away from the circumspect life to an “any road will do very nicely” life. It calls us to not think for ourselves, especially if it is contrary to what our culture calls normal and acceptable. If we stand and challenge the morays of the society we live in we are called archaic, intolerant, deplorable, and even dangerous… and those are the nice things!!! But know this – Christianity has and always will be counter-cultural because the world we live in is under the sway of the “prince of the power of the air,” the enemy of the cross. This enemy loves that he is increasingly successful in raising generations of people who will follow blindly what they are told is “right” without giving it a thought, and without regard for long established truth, resulting in a lack of meaningful and impactful direction and purpose for life.

Without a doubt, the scriptures tell us the Lord has a purpose and plan for each of our lives, but this will not be discerned by living aimlessly. As we strive to live purposefully, He will be faithful to lead and guide us as He sees fit. Only by living our lives circumspectly will we see clearly the direction He would have us to go, allowing us the honor and privilege of being used of the Lord to “redeem the time” by striving to seize every opportunity, making the most of each, to the glory of Jesus in these increasingly evil days. Ultimately, He has called each of us to share His Good News throughout the world – how’s that for purpose? – and to make Him known.

So, tell you what – my aim is to strive even more diligently to “swim against the flow” and not fall into the trap of settling for just any road that will do nicely… to be even more purposeful in following Christ as He leads me in living the life He has fashioned me for!  What say you?

Until next time… don’t settle for just any road!