Road Closed!
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Road Closed!
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Benoni Bulletin--111107--"Road Closed" (South African Edition)ROAD CLOSED!
Country Roads. Dusty Roads. Gravel Roads.
Strip Roads. Paved Roads. Super Highways. Spaghetti Bowls. Toll
Roads. We've seen them all, right? Where are all these roads
going? Do they ever "come back?" Having just returned from the
megalopolis of Houston, Texas, I can vouch for the fact that one
can get lost in style in the maze of highways and byways of the
throbbing city. Roads connect people. Roads drive industry and
commerce. Roads mark progress. What would we do without roads?
Ever so often, though, we come to a sign on a major thoroughfare
that announces, "Road Closed!" We groan and look for an
alternative route. Complaints may also be verbalised about "What
are they trying to do now again?"
I commented recently on what I referred to as
"the only two permanent jobs in America." What is that?", you
ask. The answer is "being a bridesmaid for a movie star" and
building roads in an American city. It never stops! The
maintenance and repair of a main road through Kerrville is a
case in point. Someone said It will probably be completed by the
turn of the next century! However, "road closed" means "no entry
here." It means "danger ahead." It means "go back" or it means
"seek another route." Highway patrolmen are mandated to enforce
that directive. Cross the barrier into forbidden territory at
your own peril. To adapt a cliché: "Do the crime and pay the
fine!" Sometimes, it is even "do the time."
Jesus told of two roads in Scripture, Matthew
7:13-14. One is known as the "straight and narrow way." That was
the good way. That was the right road. That highway is
heaven-bound. Isn't it ironic that after Saul of
Tarsus' encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, he ended
up praying on "Straight Street," Acts 9:11? God's man,
Ananias, found him there, taught him and baptised him to wash
away the sinful "dust of the journey" from his previous travels,
Acts 22:16. In earlier times when we drove through the Rhodesias
to get to South Africa for medical assistance, we had to drive
on strip roads. There was one strip of tar for each tyre. On
meeting an approaching vehicle, each driver was required to
yield one strip to the other driver. Those roads were miserable
to navigate, but at the end was the much-sought-after prize, 1
Corinthians 2:9. There never are "road closed" signs on
the highway to heaven, but some folk look for tempting parking
places and languish there until the sun sets on their wasted
lives. Jesus built that road at his own cost. He keeps it open,
John 14:6. All we have to do,is turn in that direction and obey
His signals. All the robots on the highway to happiness are
always green. It is only man who creates his own barriers.
Now the "road to destruction" (hell)
is a multi-lane super highway with wonderful amenities. You name
it, they have it. Temptation knows no limitations. It has been
said that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."
As soon as the Lord places a "road closed" sign on that road,
Satan and his human henchmen dismantle it. They want us to
follow the road to nowhere. They do not want us to know that
the bridge is out or that treacherous waters are sweeping away
all naive travelers. They use specious arguments to satisfy the
gullible and the non-discerning. The trouble is that at the end
of that journey, there is no room for a U-turn. Life is a one
way street, Hebrews 9:27. There is no turning back.
Jesus says, "Don't go there." You will regret
it. The Devil will try to convince you that money, sport and our
human toys and acquisitions are more important than going to
heaven. Satan will say, "You're only young once. Now is the time
to revel and enjoy yourself. Your heaven is here." He will say,
"Don't listen to the old fogeys and party-poopers who think they
know better." At the end of Satan's advice is a huge price tag.
It will cost you your soul, Proverbs 16:25. Follow Jesus. He
is the only way. He came to save your soul. Better still, let
Him drive the car!
Love you all,
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