Two roads

I was on the road early this morning. The sun was rising above the horizon and there was a mist in the air, which was breathtaking when you're driving past fields of various crops ready for harvest. It looked like a scene from The Lord of the Rings Meets the American Midwest. I didn't see any elves but there was one chipmunk near the road, deciding if he should cross or return to the cornfield he just exited. He chose the cornfield...good choice.

There are two roads which eventually lead from our place, heading "in town". One (the road I was driving this morning) is wide, easier to drive and has plenty of open spaces in between wooded areas. It's my preference to drive, even though the other road will get me to the major highway quicker. I can relax a bit on this road. I can turn the radio on and my mind is already thinking of the errands that need to be accomplished "in town".

The other road is narrow with curves, forest, a pond, and a house here and there. You have to think when you are driving through this road. It is more tricky to drive than the other road but it is the path to take when the destination is the University instead of "town". It's the direct path to most of my destinations.

So, this early morning with mist surrounding me, I was pondering the words of Jesus when He talked about roads...two roads. That wide road which is the way to destruction and the narrow road which is the path to life (my translation). My thoughts immediately went to both the roads I travel each day. I realized when travelling the narrow road, I had to be slower, more careful, thinking through the decisions, looking for the danger, keeping away from those things which would harm...living life on purpose so to speak.

When driving the road I was on at the moment, I could be more...careless. Not that there is no danger on the bigger road. You just don't notice it often. There is an S-curve that takes your breath away when you meet an oncoming SUV going very fast. There are often teenage boys (and middle aged men who think they are teenage boys), driving very large pickup trucks quite fast and over the yellow line. They like to tailgate middle aged grandmothers who are only going ten miles per hour over the speed limit. (I digressed...)

Anyway, the thought struck me this morning that it's good to be on the narrow road. It doesn't seem like a good place to be when you are traveling that road. You can't go fast on that road and survive. There is danger lurking in every corner. You can't lower your guard on the narrow road. You have to keep your mind on the goal. It does directly lead to the destination.

It is good that Jesus spoke of everyday things, like roads that are narrow and branches that wither and die when removed from the vine. Pictures that come to our mind when seed is trying to come up in the rocky ground and healthy vines growing in the prepared soil. I cannot see a sparrow without thinking of His care for me. I can't understand why I am told so often that the Bible means nothing for today. Maybe these people don't have any roads.