The Hard Road or the Easy Road?
Any road that is followed takes time, but there are many
types of roads. Often they are separated into two parts. John Bunyan’s classic,
A Pilgrim’s Progress, is a vivid picture of the verse in Matthew 7: 13. ‘Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is
the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be
which go in thereat:’
The road that Christian follows is not easy, and he is
tempted to leave it many times. The road to the town of Morality looked so
inviting, that he left the narrow road and went on until he found himself in
trouble. Once he discovered that he had been deceived, he called for help.
Evangelist came right away to help Christian, but it is not always that easy to
extract ourselves from the broad road.
The Broad Road is easy and wide. Once on it, one feels
comfortable, and lazy. This is exactly what the Enemy wants. He would like for
us to think that everything is going our way, and that we can do anything we
want, regardless of the consequences.
A good example of a broad road in a modern sense, would be
America. Americans sing songs that speak of a beautiful country, free of
hardship and toil. While most know it as an illusion, they nevertheless strive
to achieve this utopian society. Why?
Because they have become accustomed to the ease that came from being a
Christian society, losing the respect most have for poverty.
This has done nothing less than slowly destroying our
nation. While building up the façade of a golden state, with impenetrable
marble walls, our nation is rotting inside. A remarkable amount of statesmen
and government agents are seething in a sea of wickedness. America appears to
the rest of the world as a rich and glorious country. To those that live in the
country, it seems like a perfect place to live. No matter if you have money;
any American citizen can get what he wants.
Not too long ago, the average countryman acknowledged that
there was a God, and an opposite force, namely, Satan. Now, there are more atheists in America, than
anywhere else in the world. This is a direct result of a country leaving its’
roots, its’ morals, and its’ God.
The only hope lies in the following verse: Because
strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it. Matthew 7:14 The narrow road is never easy.
Rather, it will be the hardest think we will ever attempt. While the narrow road is dangerous,
difficult, and discouraging, the rewards are worth every bit.
America does not naturally
follow the narrow road, but with perseverance and faith, anyone can. This does
not mean that we should immerse ourselves in poverty, far from it! More that we
should reach out to those in need, and minister to them as Christ did.
We as Christians, are called to follow the
narrow road. Not for some religious worship, ‘for we walk by faith, not by
sight’; but because it is the best thing for us. God did not assign us a task
we would like, or an assignment that would be too hard for us. Rather, he gave
us a way to salvation, and then showed us how to live it out. The narrow road
is difficult, but not impossible; we are to die to the flesh, but we cannot die
forever. The path is strewn with thorns, but our reward is beyond anything we
can imagine.
In both Pilgrim’s
Progress, and modern America, there is a narrow road, and a broad road. Man may
follow either, depending on his choice. Christian chose the narrow road, and
though he encountered many tribulations, at the last he arrived in the
Celestial City. What road will America choose? That is for each citizen to
choose for himself. One person can influence a few, but many people make up a
republic, and that people will dictate what the government will do.
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