Imagine being lost on a remote mountainside with that feeling of desperation closing in on you when all hope is gone. Then just around a boulder you see a “cairn”. A cairn you say! Yes, it is an unnatural stack of stones left by a former traveler showing you the way.
Cairns have been used for thousands of years. They have been used for burial sites (perhaps a precursor for our tombstones), landmarks, markers for trails, and even locators for caches of supplies.
Human beings are lost souls needing to find their way in a world of sin, brokenness, contradictions, and falsehoods. The scriptures tell of Jesus seeing humanity in this condition, “But when He [Jesus] saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36 NKJV).
My heart breaks for people who are lost meandering through life trying to make sense of it all. To make matters worse, many are deceived into believing they are smarter than most, yet their thinking is futile. Paul describes some as, “…because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened./ Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:21-22 NKJV).
So, if you are concerned about those who are lost or if you have been circling the mountain; here are some “cairn pointers”:
Appearance: The rocks of the cairn must appear unnatural. Stacked rocks instead of piles of rocks reveal someone purposely built the cairn. If we fail to see God as our Creator and Jesus as our Savior, then we will continue in our lostness. God created man in His image (a spiritual eternal being).
“The fear the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7 NKJV).
Purpose: The cairn has a real purpose as a landmark or as a trail marker. If man denies the existence God, he is an intellectual fraud if he claims to have a purpose for his life. How can a mere biological blob have a purpose? Purpose comes only from God our Creator who designed and patterned His created-being for His own divine purpose. God made us for a purpose.
“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,/ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. (Ephesians 1:4-5 NKJV).
Trust: For the lost traveler to find his way, he must trust the cairn he sees. He could question the authenticity of the cairn, the purpose of the cairn, or the cairn-maker but if he is desperate, he will realize the cairn is his only option out of his lostness. Without any other hope, he will follow the direction of the cairn.
If you feel lost. If you feel like the last glimmer of hope is fading. Take heart there is a cairn in sight.
“Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’” (Matthew 21:42 NKJV).
Jesus Christ is the Rock stacked upon the stones of scripture, manifested in creation as the supernatural work of God, and realized in the journey of millions who have found their way to life by following the Rock of Christ.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NKJV).
There are millions of people who have lost their way. The spectrum of lost-ness extends from those who are at the brink of self-destruction to those who are living in grandeur yet are blindly headed for destruction. Look up from the ground, there is a cairn stacked by God and He beckons us to heed His guidance.
“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21 NKJV).
Hey, over here!! This is the Way!!
Yours on the Journey,
Harry L. Whitt
Pathway Journey 