The Shortest Path to God

“Sometimes, the shortest path to God is a zigzag.” —Mark Norman

A lot of religious people make life with God sound like a moving sidewalk where all you have to do is hop on without tripping, get your stuff on the belt, and enjoy the ride. That sounds nice, but it’s just not reality for most people. When Mark Norman made the statement above several years ago while speaking at a conference it made an indelible mark on my heart and mind, because it captures one of the great paradoxes of the spiritual side of life.

If God is more interested in relationships than in religion—which I believe to be true, then it would make sense that God often teaches us through the zigs and zags in this world. Relationships are much tougher than a list of dos and don’ts, but the rewards are so much greater as well. Most of us learn more through struggle than we do on a moving sidewalk. Since we learn best that way, it also makes sense that we get a clearer picture of God when we’ve been on some detours, because detours always make us appreciate the main roads that we know are there.