Two Journeys Two Destinations

Sometimes I find myself awake in the middle of the night. I consider myself to be a "light" sleeper. I've found that, that means just about anything can wake me up. When the furnace comes back on in winter, the sound of the rain falling outside in the summer, or when my kids tiny little footsteps scramble down the hallway late at night I wake up. Nothing wakes me up more so than the indication from God that He has a word for me. I try to abide in Him so when the light wakes me up and illuminates me with His wisdom, I partake.

Tonight it was this passage Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)

The Narrow and Wide Gates

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Imagine, if you will, you are told you must travel somewhere. You have someplace important you have to make it to, but you have the choice of how you're going to make it there. There are two different choices. Both ways take the same amount of time, both ways will end your life as you know it, but the journey and destination of both are altogether different.

This first way is wide and the perception of comfort is there. You will see and entertain many who you believe to be your friends. You will enjoy this journey all while experiencing a sense of loss that is unexplainable. You will carry with you this sense of loss that seems to becomes burdening as you travel. It begins to weigh you down. This wide way also appears to be beautiful. You see fresh water lakes, waterfalls, greenery, florals, just all the natural beauty one could imagine. As you pass it by and you walk the path that seems to be comfortable you have your family and friends with you. You also have all the material things you have told yourself you need for the journey. You have with you a hope in your own will. In. Your. Own. Will.

You cannot figure out why it seems that your path is straight and clear but every step you take feels like it's taking life from you. You're hot, you're sweating, and you feel dehydrated. You hunger for something but you don't know what it is. Even though you eat well, and you drink well you are not satisfied. You walk a little longer and you see family and friends begin to leave you. Many have diverged onto a new path. Many have invited you to take the new path with them. You may have even ventured to the new path a few times but it wasn't for you, so you always came back to what you know, afraid to explore what you don't know and understand.

You are older and wiser, now on your journey and you have learned to dodge some of the things that made you stumble. But you still have that nagging feeling that you've lost something.

You take the last step toward your final destination you are at the door of your eternity and you put your hand on the knob and turn around to get a glance at the beautiful wide road you just walked and to your horror and surprise you don't see a wide road full of friends and loved ones, you don't see the natural beauty of creation, you see a dark desert wasteland. With absolutely no sustenance in sight. Your journey, was a mirage. You do see something. There's pockets of light in all the instances you felt loss. Every time you were grieved there was a light however you remember how you purposely ignored and allowed other things to fill in the void. You see the paths that the others diverged to filled with light and you resisted to fully step into that light. Your mirage created by the thirst of worldly things and passions always pulled you back to your own path. Your own will.

You turn around to the door of your destination and step into an on fire desert even more extreme and lacking than your journey's desert and you think, "this is where I was headed all this time?"

What a waste right?

The other journey option doesn't have much flair either, in fact it's up a steep trail on the side of a mountain you can't even see the peak because it's way up in the clouds. You stand at the bottom of the road negotiating in your heart and mind that you can do it. You got a peek at that other journey option and you saw it for what it was, you could see the demons trudging all over the people who chose it, you could see the mirage of beauty fading in and out. You could see the destination right in front of all the travelers, only a few feet away from their starting point and you could see how long it took many of them to get there despite the short distance because they walked in circles. You could see their condition and expression as they realized they were doomed for eternity after entering through the door. You knew it was not for you.

You stood at the base of the narrow rocky mountain side road and you put on your gear. You grabbed a good book with a map that could show you where not to diverge and what to eat and drink. For there were many many diverging points and many many poisonous things to consume on this road. You also put on your armor despite feeling like it would weigh you down you knew you needed the protection you had heard from loved ones who traveled this road before that the enemy would attack from many angles and to be prepared. Knowing this and equipping yourself you begin your journey.

You walk for a while and you feel fine. You even feel a bit happy and then come the falling rocks from the mountaintop and you lose the bit of "stuff" that you carried along with you, and you even got physically hurt. But you remember you still have your good book with that map that tells you where to avoid. You pull it out and a friend appears before you holding his hand out to welcome you. You don't know, he seems nice but you don't immediately take his hand. You walk beside him for a while and you talk for a while and then you begin to get tired. You need a place to rest for the night so you walk ahead of your friend and come to a cave in the mountain side. It's very dark but seems comfortable. Your friend warns you not too stay there too long. You Do Not heed his words. You sit there, you rest there, and think back on how the falling rocks ruined your journey and if only it had not happened you would be alright. You dwell. You have the same conversation 100 times with your friend and his response is always the same, "let us move ahead."

Finally you rise but when you start to walk you feel heavy. Your friend suggest you lighten your load. He carries some things for you.

You walk easy for a long while talking with your friend. Laughing seeing the sights he points out, and suddenly you hear him tell you to stop. You take another step after this and you fall through a large web that appeared to be solid stone wall. Now a giant spider feels you struggling on his web and he's coming at you. You call out to your friend and he grabs you immediately. He dust you off and holds out his hand when he's done. This time you grab his hand and hold on tightly. You both travel up the narrow rocky mountain road together. You know that he's a life saver so you lean on him more. You have no fear as long as he's with you. You think to yourself "He must be a super hero or something." As you journey more and more he proves it time and time again. You learn to stop when he says stop, you learn to move when he says move. When the rocks fall again, your friend covers you. You are not hurt. You make it to the summit and your door surrounded by a radiating golden light is there. You turn to wave goodbye to your friend and you see he's not there anymore. You look at how far you have come and you see times when you thought your friend wasn't there, that he never left your side. He protected you in instances that you didn't even know he did. You were thankful to him and his guidance. You smile and turn toward your door, as you open it, you friend appears on the other side with a huge welcoming smile he embraces you and says, "well done."

I just want to add here, I never believe the thoughts I have are my own. If you enjoyed this read in anyway, give God the glory. He woke me up, he imparted on my spirit. This is his narrative, not my own.

I pray that you receive a well done. May God Bless you always.