The Paths of Life

   Imagine you are walking down a path toward something you want to get to. You come to a fork in the road where there is a paved path or a dirt path. The dirt path looks well taken care of; and it is the closest way to your goal. So you decide to keep going on the dirt path.

As you continue down the path the plants start to go away; and the trees look like they are dying. You are a little worried about the path, but you keep going. Then the path changes from solid dirt to covered in mud. You are hesitant to continue but you really want to get to your goal. So you keep going but you trip farther down the path. You are covered in mud and trash. You are ticked off but you figure you are already covered in mud so the path cannot get much worse.

   After a while you discover why the path was so muddy. A stream goes across the path. You clean yourself off as best you can and continue on your way. The path begins to even out and become dry. Then all of the sudden the path is paved. You see beautiful flowers everywhere. And, there are trees with fruit on them. You go over and pick an apple off and begin to eat it. You feel like you have accomplished something great because you made it through the muddy part of the path. In fact, you feel so good you want someone to come along so you can tell them how much you have been through; and then they can tell you how great you are.

   Your good mood is interrupted by a fork in the road. One way is paved and has many different plants and flowers. Meanwhile the other path is very tiny. It looks like it is muddy along that path and most of the plants look dead. You know that the narrow path is the right way to go in order to get to your goal; but you are tired of going through mud and thorns.

So, which path will you take?

   If you haven’t figured out by now the path is a metaphor for your life. Sometimes our life is great and we feel good about ourselves; and what we have accomplished. Other times our path gets muddy and we fall down in the problems of life. Finally at times we come to cross roads where we need to make a decision. That decision could involve taking the easy way or the hard way; the right way or the wrong way.

   This path metaphor is life; but it is missing one thing. It is missing someone to walk the path with us. We need friends who can lift us up when we fall in the mud; and encourage us. But, sometimes our friends cannot be there for us because they are walking their own paths. So we have another friend who is always there for us: God. We need to trust in Him and follow Him while we are on our path of life. I’m not going to lie to you, the path will get hard at times and you will feel like you are alone. But, you are never alone so long as you trust in God.

   Also, in my path metaphor, the person kept working toward the goal even though it was difficult at times. But then when they came to the fork in the road, after the muddy problems, they had to decide if they would keep working toward their goal or take the easy way out. This is when life gets hard and when we need to trust in God all the more.

   So my challenge for you this week is to think about your path so far. Have you been walking the path with friends who will encourage you and vice versa? Have you made the right choices in life even when they were not easy? Have you been walking the path with God and trusting in Him?

   Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 7:13-14