As much as families plan for a summer vacation or trips, things rarely go exactly as planned. If you are driving, accidents, detours or traffic may re-route you in a different direction. Flying across the country may save time, but unless you are flying direct there is always a chance you might miss your connecting flight. Meanwhile, some destinations can only be accessed by ferry; missing one boat may throw off your entire schedule. Thus, it’s important for human beings to learn to become flexible, making the best of an awkward situation. If not, you may not have the persistence it takes to get you where you want to go in this life.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it,” Matthew 7:13.
In 1920, Robert Frost wrote the Road Less Traveled. This poem seems to transcend time, applicable today just like it was nearly 100 years ago. This was written shortly after cars were invented, long before the development of America’s Interstate Highways. Most people were forced to walk wherever they went or take the train if leaving the state. The 2006 animation film Cars provides a scene with a poignant message. Owen Wilson, the voice of Lightning McQueen is talking with Sally, Bonny Hunt. While driving on a scenic road Sally says “people used to go for a drive to have a good time. Now, people drive to save time, bypassing scenic destinations.” When you rush from point A to point B in life, you often don’t enjoy everything in between.
“But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it,” Matthew 7:14.
Like Frost’s poem, Jesus compares life to two different roads. The first is similar to a super highway filled with attractive advertisements, adult entertainment and various rest stops along the way. The second is less flashy, filled with overgrown brush, unpaved and vacant. One is full of distractions, grabbing the attention of anyone who is ADHD. The other is less appealing, laid back and quiet. If you were talking about which destination, hotel or restaurant to choose, I want the one which is cool, hip and thriving. Upon further review, Jesus is talking about eternity, not a route to work. Therefore, I’d rather get to heaven in a round about way than missing the exit completely. Don’t worry if your life is currently going no where or stuck in neutral. Rather, hold on to hope because no one get’s to heaven in a straight line.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 