CROSSROADS
Today's reading: Obadiah

"You shouldn't have stood at the crossroads, killing those who tried to escape. You shouldn't have captured the survivors, handing them over to their enemies in that terrible time of trouble." Obadiah verse 14 NLT

The words today are spoken to the enemies of Israel. During their 'civil war', when brothers fought against brothers.

They were being told of their sins by the prophet Obadiah. And I, thousands of years later, have been shown mine through the same words.

I stand at the crossroads greeting people all day long.

People that walk up to my sales counter. Folks I speak to when I go to the bank. Souls I bump into at Walmart. Lives I am allowed to touch over the phone, through texts--or through this devotion.

For many I may be who greatly impacts the path they take.

At the crossroads where I stand, do I point them to Christ, or back to the world?

Do I offer hope or show them with the scowl on my face, the condemnation of my words or the effects of my body language that they're on their own?

Am I offering mercy at this crossroad? Mercy that's been poured all over me?

I don't think any of us fully realize the impact we may have on a stranger, an acquaintance, a close friend, a neighbor or our family members.

This 'crossroad' idea has really got me to thinking.