33 years ago my family and attended the church's winter camp in Austria as guests. Sport in the winter for me as a child and youth meant ice skating and ice hockey, but not skiing. Nevertheless, one day we went cross country skiing with other families who were at the camp.

The course was several kilometers long, and near its end there were several forks in the path. One of them led back into the village and to the ski lodge, and the others led back into the snow covered forest. At this point our group was a long, stretched out line. My son Ted, then 7 years old, was on the course with another boy. When Ted reached the point where the forks in the path were, the other boy was ahead of him and Ted did not see which way he had turned. Instead of taking the path back to the village, Ted took a route back into the forest. There were only about 30 minutes of daylight left, but fortunately another cross country skiier coming from the opposite direction met Ted and told him he had to turn around. And so he was possibly spared a couple of hours in the cold and darkness of the forest.

There are sometimes forks in the path of life as we live it. Which way should we go? Not all paths are equal, and they don't all lead us to the desired goal. And that is especially true for the most important questions in life: Why are we on the earth? What is the purpose of life?

On the last evening of our Saviour's human life, the apostle Thomas asked Him: "How can we know the way?” We all know Jesus' answer: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

We have subscribers to our magazine for whom religion seems to be a hobby. But it doesn't serve any purpose to compare the different religions to see which path their adherents are taking to reach the goal for their existence. Human philosophy and human-oriented meditation won't help, either. And thinking the Bible is an interesting book that you can read every now and then won't help, either.

There is only one sure path out of the dark forest of human misdirection: Jesus Christ. And His exhortation to Peter applies to everyone who wants to be His disciple: "Follow me!" (John 21:22).

Jesus Christ is the only sure way to know the Father and to fulfill the destiny God has purposed for human life. And there is no other path, "nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). All other paths via different religions, philosophies, etc. will not lead us to the goal of life.

When we encounter a fork in our path of life, let's ask ourselves: Which way would Jesus go?

With these thoughts I wish everyone a rewarding Sabbath!