I
had the opportunity to take a walk in the woods today, along some snow covered
paths. It was a beautiful winter day, with temperatures in the upper 30’s. It
was a perfect day for a walk in the woods. I followed a narrow trail that took
me along the banks of a frozen lake. The trail ascended and descended according
to the terrain. I was soon breathing hard and became warm enough to partially
unzip my heavy winter jacket. The sun was shining and there was no breeze, so
the conditions were ideal. Walking through the woods it was quiet, except for
the sound of scurrying squirrels and birds flitting in the tree tops.
The
trail that I followed was obviously well used, although most of the tracks were
old and softened by the melting snow. There were only a few places where I
momentarily lost the path. As I trudged along, occasionally slipping in the wet
snow, I noticed something interesting. The freshest tracks along the path were
not made by pack boots, but by deer. Even though there were occasional places
where the deer diverged from the path, it seemed like they preferred the
well-worn trail to the deep snow.
As I
walked along, I thought of how the Bible tells us that we don’t have to blaze
our own trail through life. Although we often are convinced that going our own
way is the best way, it is tiring at best and it holds hidden dangers that are
not always evident. Along the sides of the trail that I followed there were
hollows in the ground and fallen branches, both hidden by the snow. Even the
extent of the slope was obscured by the way the snow had drifted in places. To
try to cut my own path along that embankment would have been treacherous.
Proverbs
3:5-6 tells us, Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths
straight. God invites us to trust Him to lay out the trail that we
should take through life. We can be confident that it will be the best path,
although not without challenges. The good news is that we don’t have to walk
that path along. Jesus has promised to be our guide. When Jesus called his
first disciples, he gave a simple invitation; come follow me. He offers the
same invitation to us. Having a map is very useful, but having a guide who
intimately knows the trail is even better,
There
was another observation I made as I walked along. The path I was following
encircled the lake. The path on the one side of the lake was a narrow footpath,
only used by hikers. The path on the other side of the lake was a broad, paved
path, used by bikers in the summer and snowmobilers in the winter. Once I had
joined the broad path I noticed that there were fewer deer tracks. There were
still many human footprints, along with the distinct marks of snowmobile skies
and tracks. Without giving too much credit to the deer (they do routinely get
hit by cars), it seems like they recognized that the broad path was not as safe
for them to travel on. There was more of a chance of them encountering humans
and machines driven by humans.
In
life, we often believe that the broad path is the safe path. If everyone is
following a certain path, then it must be safe. But that is not always the
case. In fact, many times the broad path is extremely dangerous. Have you ever
driven on a four-lane highway in a snowstorm, with people who think
80-miles-an-hour is a safe speed?
The
Bible tells us that spiritually there are two paths that we can follow in life.
One of those paths is broad, with room for any different views and approaches
to life. The other path is narrow, with limited flexibility. By in large,
people today choose the broad path. They don’t want to be restricted in what they
believe. Instead, they want to leave all of their options open. That is a
dangerous choice to make. It will ultimately lead to a person’s destruction.
In Matthew
7, Jesus warns us to not be fooled by the spiritual open road. "Enter
through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads
to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the
road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)
What makes the broad way broad
is that you can choose whatever faith system you desire. We are told constantly
that it really doesn’t matter, as long as you have faith in something. All
paths ultimately lead to the same destination. That is a true statement, except
the destination is destruction and not life. Jesus made it clear that the
pathway to a right relationship with God the Father is exclusive and narrow. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John
14:6 (NIV) Anyone who wants to can enter the narrow gate, but it can only be
entered through Jesus. There is no other way.
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