The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

 

Turn your bibles to Ezekiel 21:19 and read along with me, the following: “Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city.  Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver.”

 

Wow, usually when I get to a fork in the road, and I am not sure which one to take, I just usually look at a map, or simply guess which one is headed in the general direction to which I am headed!!   I guess the king of Babylon was a little more indecisive, or at least, more cautious than I.  I do recall one incident, though, that happened to me, that is similar to these words of God to our good brother Ezekiel.  It was during the night of day One of the ground war of Desert Storm in 1991.  I was leading a convoy of vehicles filled with American soldiers north into Iraq.  There were no stars out, nor was the moon up yet.  Almost completely dark in the middle of an Iraqian desert.   I had already sent an advance party of two soldiers ahead with another unit to select a piece of ground where we could set up camp.  As I was leading this convoy along an old road going northward through the desert, I contacted, by radio, my advance party to find out where they were.  They gave me directions like this:  “Go north on MSR Texas (MSR stands for Military Supply Route, and ‘Texas’ was just the name we gave the road temporarily on our war maps) until you get to the bombed out gas station.  There, take a right and go east for about 12 kilometers, and you will see us on the hill to your left.”  Okay!  Seemed like fair directions, so I continued north.  I didn’t recollect seeing ANY BUILDING, let alone a Gas Station, or even one that was ‘bombed out’.  So, more northward we went.  Remind you now, it was REAL dark.  So, the further north into enemy territory I went, the more nervous I got.  What I DIDN’T want to do, was MISS the right turn at the ‘blown up Exxon’ (or whatever brand it was) and accidentally find myself too far north in the middle of enemy strongholds.  At one point, I even stopped the convoy, and backtracked a couple miles myself, just to make sure I hadn’t missed that turn.  I didn’t see it, so we continued northward once again.  By now, the palms of my hands were getting a little bit sweaty.  But FINALLY, there it was!  One of the most beautiful sights I saw that night….a bombed out gas station off to the right side of the road, with a fork in the road right there.  I TOOK that right hand turn, and a few miles later, joined up with my advance party.  During that trip northward, I consulted my military GPS (a device that gives you the coordinates of exactly where you are within about 20 feet, anywhere in the world).  I also consulted my map (numerous times).  And, I consulted some of the other leaders within the convoy who were also checking THEIR maps.  We DIDN’T want to miss that fork in the road!  The same held true for the king of Babylon.  He consulted everything from idols to casting lots with his arrows and even examining livers. 

 

History lesson-examining livers:  In ancient Babylonia, in order to determine the will of their gods, the Kings would have an animal slaughtered for sacrifice and, starting with the liver and ending at the small intestine,  have it examined for imperfections….the more they found, the more ominous would be the will of their gods.  No cost for this! 

When ANY of us come to ANY junction in the road, we make a decision which fork to take.  Sometimes, those decisions are automatic, because we have done it so many times before and we know where the road that we took before, will lead us.  Sometimes, we consult our spouses, or other passengers in the car, or even a map, if we are not sure which turn to take.  We go through similar processes when we come across ‘forks’ in our spiritual path as well.  Some forks we will take over and over so that it becomes common place, because we KNOW where we will go when we take that path.  And sometimes, we will consult others (seek advice) about which way to go. 

So what is my point?  My point, my first point, is:  Make a Choice!

 

I wonder how many of you out there remember this man, Yogi (Lawrence Peter) Berra.  A famous baseball hall of fame hitter for the New York Yankees, driving in a phenomenal 23 runs in one double-header game, turned player-coach for the Mets and brought them from the very last place in the final month of the season to win the National League pennant in 1973.  He was a many-time MVP and set a pitcher's arm-length of records during his lifetime as 'the toughest man in baseball in the last three innings".  Yogi was also an often quoted individual because of his uniqueness in thought and expression.  Two quotes I particularly like are: "Half the lies they tell about me aren't true." and "I never said most of the things I said."

Another quip by Yogi I want to talk about is this one: "When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it."  In analyzing this short sentence you might see a contradiction of sorts.  "Which one?", you might ask. "Which road should I take?".  We all know the answer to that question many different times in our lives.  When we are confronted with an obvious choice between good and evil, most of us choose the correct one.  Sometimes however, choices come along and we just don't know which one to take.  Like, for example, 'should I buy a new car, or save some money by buying a pre-owned one?'  There are advantages, and disadvantages to both choices.  So, which one should you take?  You have to weigh those advantages and disadvantages, and struggle hard with greed and envy, as you make your decision.  Also, sometimes decisions are even more obscure in life's challenges.  Some folks simply don't advance to their full potential simply because they don't take either fork…they stop and remain idle, or they turn around and go back the way they came.  We have seen evidence of that in the Atlanta Church of Christ, with people who have professed their life to God, openly to Jesus and all the world to see.  Then, when difficulty came along, a sharp fork in our road, they turned around and went back to their 'easier' lives.  Jesus doesn't want us to do that.  He told us through the Word that persecutions would certainly come into our lives.  We will have difficulty on our jobs.  We will have differences of opinion with friends.  We will be hurt emotionally by loved ones.  When we arrive at that split in our travels, we need to take Yogi's (and Jesus') advice.....take one of those forks.  Your analysis of which one to take, of course, is important, but take one.  To err is human, as it has been stated.  Of course all of our decisions will not be the correct ones.  But we can learn from them.  So what if you err (you ARE going to); drive on, don't give up.  You have seen several forks in the road yourself in your walk with God.....don't give up....make a wise decision and move forward.

 

Let me tell you another story which will make the Nike slogan, “Just Do It” makes sense when it comes to making a critical decision about going forward, or just quitting.  An old Vermonter, probably dead by now, a guy by the name of Francis Coburn, was both a comedian as well as a University of Vermont professor, my Alma Mater.  He tells this story about a man, we’ll call him Walter, who was a politician running for a small office in the small town of Northfield Vermont.  This man had what people used to call, and English bicycle.  It had only hand brakes, and no foot brakes.  You could, as Frances says, ‘peedal backwards, whilst coasting forwards’.   Well, Walter used to ride through the town of Northfield Vermont on his English bicycle, pedaling backwards, and it would give those folks quite a start.  During one of his debates when running for that office, his opponent said that Walter seemed to peedaling backwards most the time.  To which Walter replied:  “It is bettah, to have done it backwards, than nevah to have done it atall.” 

So, make a choice, whether it be good or bad. 

 

Point # 2:  Listen to the Voice

 

This voice we are going to hear, is going to have some scary words to tell us.  A lot of people think going to Heaven is easy.  “Praise Jesus into your hearts and say the sinner’s prayer.”  Wham, bam, thank you maam, it’s a done deal.  We all know that is not the way it is.  The voice of the Bible tells us very specifically that the pathway to Heaven is not a smooth road. 

 

Turn to Isaiah 35 and read verses 8 and 9:  “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it.”

 

Jesus has created the way for us….He has made a highway for us to follow by dying on the cross for us.  Unfortunately, that highway is not like I-10 through the deserts in Texas where everything is straight and smooth. It is more like 285 with everyone driving 70-90 mph, with people weaving in and out of traffic, endangering everyone else.  And it is like spaghetti junction with dangerously merging traffic.  It is like North Avenue with potholes all over the place.  Jesus’s voice tells us in Matthew 7, verses 13 and 14 to: "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.”

 

We decided to take the road less traveled. The majority of people are not Christians, even though may claim to be.  Most of the 6 Billion plus people on earth are on the other road, the one leading away from Heaven.  Ours is definitely the one less traveled.

 

However, we are fortunate enough to have found this narrow road.  But, because it is narrow, filled with potholes of sin, people merging onto it. and people leaving it, both in very big hurries, we have to be very careful how we drive.  When we see forks in the road, we have to slow down to help us figure out which one to take.  Listen to the voice of the Bible as you learn right from wrong.  Listen to the voice of God as your conscience tells you which road to take. Listen to the voice of reason as you struggle with sin on a daily basis.  Your daily decisions about everything will determine if you stay on this narrow road, or be relegated to the ditches on both sides. 

Listen to God.

 

And lastly, my 3rd Point:  Get Ready to Rejoice  

 

Matthew 5:12.   “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven…” 

Rejoice in the fact that you have decided to lay down your life for Christ. 

Rejoice that Christ has promised us eternal salvation.

Rejoice that you took the correct road in your life’s fork when you were baptized.

Rejoice that the road, although bumpy, leads to Heaven, and not to hell.

Rejoice in knowing you will never go back and take the “other” road.

Philippians 4:4.  “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

SO, when you get to some fork in your life

1 – Make a Choice

          Choose wisely

          Expect to make mistakes

          Don’t quit

2 – Listen to the Voice

          Bible

          God

          Holy Spirit/Conscience

          Friends/spouses

3 – Get ready to Rejoice

          You will be in Heaven some day for all of eternity

Robert Frost seemed sad, yet also glad, at the end of his poem.  He expected never to have another chance to take that first road, but was happy to have taken the one fewer people had taken before him.  I am glad I decided to follow Christ in 1996, and, as we all know, none of our roads over the past few years have been really smooth.  Sometimes I miss the old life where the pleasures of sin were, well, pleasurable.  But I am simply elated that I chose the right path of following Jesus when I came upon the “Cross Road”, the road upon which the Cross of Jesus has stood.  I remember that I was a traveler on a pretty rough road, and thank God for sacrificing His Son so that I could take the one less traveled by, and HE has made all the difference.