Still Searching For a Better Route

Every morning I leave the house, get in the car, and turn the sat nav on.

Same destination. Same roads. Same parking spot.

And yet—I still check.

Is there a quicker way?

A better option?

Something that suits me more today?

It’s strange, isn’t it?

Even when we know the route, we still go looking for alternatives.

And maybe that’s exactly where today’s Gospel lands.

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

It’s not shocking. It’s not new. No one hears that and thinks, “Oh—I forgot that.”

We know it.

But still, we search.

We look for ways that are easier.

Ways that demand less.

Ways that fit our wants instead of shaping our needs.

Because, if we’re honest, we like control.

Like Pontius Pilate standing before Christ, we convince ourselves we’re the ones holding power.

That we get to decide the terms.

That we can choose the route.

But handing over control to Christ? That’s uncomfortable.

Because His way takes us places we wouldn’t choose.

• Places that stretch us.

• Situations that expose us.

• Callings that feel too big, too slow, too demanding.

Parenthood, for example—no one ever feels ready.

The weight of shaping a life, the sacrifice, the constant giving.

Marriage asks something similar.

A surrender of independence for something deeper, but harder.

Work? That quiet, persistent voice: You’re not good enough. Someone’s watching. Don’t mess this up.

So we drift.

We edge away from Christ’s way because it doesn’t seem to “fit” the modern world.

But today’s Gospel flips that completely:

Christ isn’t meant to fit our world.

We are meant to fit His.

I am the way.

For parents:

we are not called to be our children’s friends—we are called to be their parents.

For relationships:

we are drawn into love that mirrors the Father’s love—costly, faithful, real.

For work:

we are called to integrity, diligence, respect—even when no one notices.

I am the truth.

For parents:

we hold our children to Christ’s standard, not the world’s shifting one.

For relationships:

we stay rooted in honesty, prayer, and unity.

For work:

we act justly, speak honestly, and earn our living with integrity.

I am the life.

For parents

: we don’t just teach prayer—we model it.

For relationships:

we pray together and for one another.

For work:

we begin in prayer, and we end in prayer.

When we stop trying to reroute and finally follow Christ’s way, something shifts.

Doors open.

We’re protected in ways we don’t always see.

And slowly—sometimes painfully—life begins to make sense.

Not because we’ve mastered it.

But because we’ve chosen to follow.