Where’s the Parade?

Bible Reading: Isaiah 48:17-18

“Mom, I see the parade! It’s coming!” Kelly squealed with excitement and grabbed hold of her little brother’s hand. “Gabe, get ready because they’re going to throw candy right at us and we can put it in our bags, okay?”

Gabe nodded and grinned. Kelly looked down the street and hopped up and down in anticipation.

“Just be patient, honey,” Mom called from her lawn chair. “It will be here soon.”

Kelly craned her neck to see down the street. The parade was still far away, but she could make out flags, cars, floats, and even a fire truck. She could faintly hear a drum and knew the band was marching her way.

Suddenly, she gave a little shriek of dismay. “It turned! They’re going down a different street. They’re not coming here!”

“What?” Dad jumped up and looked down the street, and Kelly noticed everyone else getting up and looking around in confusion. “Come on, Kelly!” Dad scooped up Gabe, and they ran to the next block just as the parade arrived.

Kelly forgot about all the confusion until they walked home afterward. “Mom, why didn’t the parade go by where we were sitting at first? Were we in the wrong place?”

Mom laughed. “No, we were on the right street. I think the person at the front of the parade got a little confused and made a wrong turn. Good thing we caught up and didn’t miss anything, right?”

“Right!” said Kelly. “It was so much fun, and I got lots of candy!”

“I can’t stop thinking about everyone in the parade following the leader,” said Dad. “It wasn’t a big deal to change the parade route a bit this morning, but sometimes people follow the wrong leaders in life, and that’s much harder to fix. When you follow someone who doesn’t know the right way to go, you can get into all kinds of trouble.”

“Who should we follow then, Dad?” asked Kelly.

“We need to follow Jesus,” said Dad. “He’s the only one we can trust to lead us the way we need to go. He’ll never lead us down the wrong road.” – Robyn Mulder

How About You?

Who are you following? Friends? Celebrities? Are you getting off track because whoever you’re following keeps heading off in the wrong direction? Jesus is the only one who can get you where you need to go. Trust and obey Him, and look to Him for guidance by praying, reading your Bible, and worshiping and learning more about Him with other Christians.

Today’s Key Verse: Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. (NKJV)

Today’s Key Thought:

Follow Jesus