Paths of Righteousness

Psalm 23:3b,  "He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

      When I married John Eyster and moved to his home town of Decatur, Alabama to live, I was delighted to find a warm welcome everywhere I went because of the Eyster name and reputation.  Since I became an Eyster, I have been careful not to do anything which would reflect badly on the family name.

      When we accept Christ as Savior, we are born into God's forever family, and we are given the family name of Christian.  And since I have become a Christian, I try to be very careful not to do anything which would reflect badly on the family name.

      The Bible gives us another name for Christians, and that name is

"saint."   Unfortunately, my behavior is not always "saintly," but I

can say along with Paul that I want to "live up to what we have already

attained."   (From Philippians 3:16)  That means living a holy,

righteous life, being a good example of the kind of person a Christian should be.  But I don't do a very good job of that sometimes.  God has delineated the path of righteousness for us in His Word, but we need more than instruction.  We need to be empowered to stay on that righteous path.  That's why we need a Shepherd to lead us along.  When we stray from that path, our Shepherd reminds us that we need to repent and confess.  It is our Shepherd who forgives our trespasses and puts us back on the path of righteousness and helps us to stay on that right path.

      A good shepherd is very interested in the well-being of his sheep.

  He leads the flock on a path that will give them the greatest opportunity to be healthy and happy.  Following our Shepherd along the path of righteousness is undoubtedly the way to find the best, the happiest, the healthiest, the most fulfilled life that we can possibly have.

Father, thank You that You are our Shepherd!  You will always lead us in the right path if we follow You.  Amen.