Which Road Are You On?

"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." - Jesus (Matthew 7:13-14)

Two little verses about gates and roads. One is narrow, the other is wide. I remember from my days in the Highway Planning Department with the NCDOT that car counts were taken on roads and those counts determined how wide the roads needed to be... a little bit of traffic, a 18 foot wide two lane road; a lot of traffic, multiple lanes sometimes 140 feet wide. That seems almost intuitive ...lots of traffic, bigger road. Little bit of traffic, small road.

But what determined the traffic counts? The road went where people wanted to go! Lots of people want to go to Charlotte, big roads. Few people want to go to Boomer, little road. Jesus is giving us a lesson in roadway design. He tells us that there is a multi-lane superhighway that is headed straight to hell and that there is a quaint little two lane country road that leads to heaven. The little road is so quaint and so off the beaten path that only a few people ever find it. Only a very few.

I use Google maps now to find my way to a place that I want to go. I don't just start driving and hope to end up a grandma's house. I don't look for the road that everyone else is on and jump in line and assume that I will get to the beach. I don't look for the nicest roadway and guess that it is the one that will get me home. I go to the source, a road map or a GPS device and I follow the directions that will take me to my destination. (there is hidden meaning in this paragraph)

I believe that Jesus is making two important points in these two verses...first, it takes effort to find the small gate! You don't stumble into it, it is intentional! You search for it and you find it. And secondly, not everyone wants to walk the narrow path. Regardless of the warnings, some people (most according to Jesus) will choose the broad road. They will run headlong into hell because they want to enjoy the ride. The wide road looks so good, it is so wide and there are so many people using it. It must be the fun way.

But Jesus says, "Enter through the narrow gate." He wants us to follow Him. He tells us where the wide road leads. There is no mystery destination waiting at the end of the trip. I am not going to choose my beliefs based on what the most people believe. I am not going to pick my church based on where the most people go. I am not selecting my place to worship by how nice the building is. None of that leads to the narrow gate! The narrow gate is found by the person who searches. His Word is our GPS, our road map and that is where directions are found. That is where we must look to find our beliefs and our church.

Jesus looks us in the eye and says, "choose, wide or narrow." Sometimes the superhighway looks tempting; the wide lanes, the fast moving traffic. That is where my friends are. That is where our family is. "Choose, wide or narrow." Grandma and Grandpa drove that highway; if it was good enough for them, it is good enough for me. "Choose, wide or narrow." As sad as it is, many, no, most will choose the wide road that leads to destruction. What about you? Which road are you on? The good news is God allows u-turns. No matter how long or how far you are on that wide road, He says you can change direction and get on the road that leads to life everlasting. But you must choose... choose wisely!