Have you ever noticed a years old road? Dirt, gravel, asphalt, or one of my Grandfather’s favorite terms, macadam. The other day the Worst/Best and I were taking our morning walk on a years old road. It’s the road to and from our house. The road we walk on, drive on, ride on. I suddenly noticed something about this road I’ve been traveling on for the past 10 years. Something that I would not necessarily notice if I were driving or riding on the road. Something I would only notice if I was walking…it’s not flat. Now I don’t mean that it has hills or movement with the terrain, the road itself is not flush with the ground.
Because of years of weighty traffic – cars, trucks and tractors, the road has gotten compacted where the wheels roll making this ever so slight ridge in the middle of the road. It’s not as noticeable to the seeing eye as it is to the walking feet. It’s not a king of the mountain size ridge, just a modest rise. It’s just enough to notice the path on either side is lower.
If you are not on one side or the other of this hump in the middle of the road it can mean disaster – a stumped toe, a twisted ankle, an all out fall, especially if you’re walking in the dark. The voice of experience talking here.
As I’m walking along, I notice that I have been trying to walk the middle of the road and it made me feel completely off balance. I realized that I couldn’t safely walk on the middle of the road. I could not straddle the lanes. Straddling on the ridge was dangerous, it could cause missteps and could land me on the wrong side of the road.
If we choose our path, which side of the road we’re going to walk on, we are less likely to find ourselves drifting to the middle and losing our balance. But, that also requires us to pick what side of the road we will travel on. Another thing I noticed is that the middle of the road is wider than the grooves the tires cut. The groove on the right side is narrower than the middle.
As I was walking it occurred to me that I could either stumble down the middle of the road in the dark, which will eventually result in jury, or I could walk on the right side. Same with Jesus. There is no middle ground with Him. It’s a red letter thing.
“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me. So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.
Matthew 12:30-31
There is no middle ground with Jesus. For or against, it’s just that simple, in fact it is exceedingly clear. Walking the middle of the road, one toe in-one toe out of the world is super dangerous terrain.
I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16-18
As I think about Holy Week, I think of that lonesome valley that Jesus traveled. Even though He knew the events about to unfold before Him, events predicted long ago, Jesus chose the road to the cross for me, for you. He chose the cross so that I didn’t have to walk an unbalanced, unstable, uneven road. He chose the cross so that I didn’t have to trip along in the darkness. He chose the cross for my salvation. He chose the cross so we could chose life. How could I not chose Him?
There’s just no middle road here, no gray…we can’t have two masters. Chose today whom you will serve.