When possible I ride my bike to work, not on multi-lane highways, thoroughfares, and avenues, but on the trails provided by Dallas Parks and Recreation. Although often no more than narrow pavement over old railbeds, they provide a perfect path: flat stretches edging the lake, treed canopies isolating from densely populated neighborhoods, other sections openly connecting to communities I might otherwise sometimes sadly forget are even there, and occasionally an equally invigorating and terrifying dog race—not my favorite part, but a good workout nonetheless. The strange thing is that, despite how much I enjoy the ride, when I leave my house in the morning I’m not thinking about the trail, lake, trees, or neighborhoods, but about the work I need to do that day.
I don’t need a large trail for my bike. I just need it to give me a path to my daily destination. The influence any of us have in others’ lives is exactly so.
Stephen was a path for Paul, Philip for the Ethiopian, and they in turn for the nations. It is the nature of Christianity that we provide a way for others to find their completion in Him, not that we become the end in ourselves.
God knows how to use the paths each of us contributes to those with whom we interact. May this week be one more in which our friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances, and guests find their way to His will on the path He provides through our works and words.