Have you ever made the mistake of going down a one-way street? I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and when I moved to the city, I became accustomed to one-way streets. Before you’d even look for the sign, you just knew based on how the cars were parked. Chicago, such fond memories of driving round and round for 30 minutes to find street parking.
If you’ve ever made the mistake of going down a one-way street or landing in the X on one of those reversible lanes, panic can come over you . Ohmigosh, am I going the? I’M GOING THE WRONG WAY!! You either frantically look for the nearest side street or driveway so you can get yourself right or (if you’re out of harm’s way) you give passersby the ‘ol wave, “I know, sorry”, and they give you the you’re-doing-it-wrong look and you still get to where you’re going. Whether we do it right the first time or panic when we make mistakes, the right path is always there.
I look at my life the same way and man, have I made a lot of wrong turns. What keeps us from making wrong turns in our lives? If you listen for that one voice it’s telling you. Sometimes it’s a still small voice, maybe it’s booming voice telling you “No, not this way”. A few other voices might say the same. Your parents, your teachers, your mentors, coaches, whoever had an influence in how you were raised may ring through your head, not this way. You might even tell yourself you know right from wrong but the influence of others can bring you down the wrong path if you’re not mindful of it. I’m so thankful that despite all my wrong turns, God is there lighting the right path.
The path we tend to choose is the easy way (duh!) and often God says, no, we’re going to take the challenging road. Why? Why does everything have to be hard? How can THIS be the right way, Lord? It’s uphill, there are speed bumps that would take out a tire and I can’t even see the road ahead it’s so dark. And yet still, it’s the ONLY way. Every athlete that made it to the Olympics took the hard way. Every business owner that’s leveraged their last penny took the hard way. Every student that’s been accepted into college worked hard. Life is hard. We work hard, study hard, because we know the kinds of results we can achieve with patience and perseverance.
God works with us the same way and He is ever so patient. You may not be going for a gold medal, a million units sold or a Harvard degree, but God has a reward for us and He patiently waits for us to receive it. It’s not just about saying “I’ll follow wherever the Lord leads me”. Yes, saying it can give you the power to surrender to Him, but it’s more than that. It’s about BELIEVING that where He leads us, despite how hard it is, there is a reward. If you’re familiar with the Bible, you know it’s divided into 2 sections, the Old and the New Testament. When God sent Jesus, he made a new covenant with us. Page Break, start a new chapter, New Testament. Now this is the way.
When we think about our path to Heaven, it can be a winding road, lots of speed bumps, steep valleys and uphill climbs, but there can be a long stretch where you can see clearly. Regardless of how we get there, getting there is what’s important. There is only ONE way. New Testament, new covenant, God sent His son to show the world, eternity is ours. You don’t have to earn it. Jesus took the hit. He said we are worth saving. He died to take on our sin and all the sins we haven’t even committed yet and we get to go to Heaven because we believe He IS the Messiah. That’s it.
But what about being a good person? “Good person”, what does that even mean? Good meaning they don’t litter or steal? Good meaning they let you go in front of them in the checkout if you only have 1 item. Some people think good is not murdering someone but they cheat on their spouse, lie to their family. I ponder this question a lot. I don’t want to see “good” people miss out on Heaven!
I believe the Bible. I believe the historical account of Jesus’ life, the words He spoke, and the miracles He performed to prove to people that He was not just a man, not just a prophet. His disciples carried His message to their graves. I could see if crowds of people came out to see Jesus and He didn’t cure the blind and the sick or turn water into wine or feed 5,000 people with a loaf of bread and 2 fish. THAT would get around. Dude – I checked him out and He’s a great speaker, but . . . That’s not the case. News of Jesus’ miracles spread like wildfire and then the biggest miracle of them all, He rose from the dead.
Holy Week is upon us and tonight represents Jesus’ last supper with His disciples. He lived and traveled with them for 3 years. He proved to them He was the son of God and then took His place in Heaven. He taught them there is only ONE way to Heaven. He was given the type of death sentence reserved for murderers, rapists and thieves. Can you even imagine? Pilate even said “he’s done nothing wrong” and the high priests said “crucify him!” They chose to return a convicted murderer back onto their streets to remove Jesus to please Ceasar, please others, and keep their lofty positions. Not good people.
There are many good things that we can do to make this life not so hard on each other, and those acts are pleasing to God, but when it comes to the life that follows after this one; the more colorful, vibrant life without sorrow, tears or death (or stealing or littering), there’s only one way to get there. Easter is upon us and as Christians, we celebrate our Messiah. Despite the sorrow of Jesus’ death, we know the reward. I love Jesus and I picture the day I will meet Him with great anticipation.
My life feels much like the disciples’ Saturday. They’ve just lost Jesus on Friday but they don’t yet see what’s coming on Sunday. Saturday is awful, it’s sad and despair sets in. They can’t think straight. They don’t understand. They don’t remember what Jesus said. They haven’t yet connected all the dots. Then Sunday comes. I’m still living out that kind of a Saturday every day, but I already know what they didn’t know. He is Risen.