The King’s Highway

By Doug Schofield

“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: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

The broad way or the narrow way –which road are you taking, to Heaven or to Hell?

Certainly our Lord clearly defined the difference between the two ways, and His illustration is even more graphic for us today, because of the vast amount of traveling we do. Likening the Christian life to a typical journey we may take, we are familiar with both broad roads and narrow roads, aren’t we? We find the broad way attractive in many ways; in most places, the on ramp to the Interstate is designed to allow the driver to come up to highway speed so that merging with traffic is safe and simple, (as safe as 70 or 80 mph can be traveling only a few feet apart.) But the broad way also has its disadvantages; it is usually crowded, and at best, the crowds are neither friendly nor helpful.

The narrow roads, usually the old two-lane roads, are at times strait –(s-t-r-a-i-t), difficult to negotiate, with speed zones, traffic lights, intersections, school zones, and innumerable other obstacles. Yet, in my personal travel experiences I find that taking the narrow road is often a far more enjoyable way to travel, enabling one to arrive at a destination without the stress of the Interstate system. The Christian life – the narrow road – is far more pleasant and satisfying than the flashy attractions of the broad way make that road seem to appear.

Sometimes a person who is well behaved, honest and dependable might be said to be ‘walking the strait and narrow’; a reference to living as Christ instructed. When someone chooses to ‘walk the strait and narrow’ he is knowingly choosing a course that is certain to be difficult at times, but one that ultimately will lead to the desired destination – Heaven.

Jesus urges His hearers to strive to enter in at the strait gate, (Luke 13:24). In John 10:9 He tells us that He is the door, the means of entrance; and in 14:6 He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Christ is The WAY, the NARROW WAY. The word narrow indicates that much is excluded. There are some things that just won’t fit on the narrow way. Highways are sometimes marked with signs warning trucks with wide loads of a narrow bridge. The Federal Highway standard lane width is 12 feet; therefore, a load that is more than 12 feet wide will have difficulty passing. Some of the things we may try to take with us on our spiritual journey may not fit on the narrow way. We must leave those things behind. Choosing to take the broad way in order to accommodate our load is not an option for one who wants to be a faithful Christian.

Sometimes, we may find that certain roads are impassable for a variety of reasons. As the Children of Israel traveled away from Egypt, at times they tried to travel on highways. Improved roadways in those days were privately owned and maintained, usually by the king of the territory through which they passed. Numbers 20:14-21 records an attempt by Moses to lead the Children of Israel over a highway that belonged to the King of Edom. Edom refused. In chapter 21 the King of Shion refused passage to Moses on another section of this same road; so the Israelites made war on them and took the road and all the surrounding land away from them.

The King of Hebron had also refused passage to the Israelites on yet another stretch of this same highway, despite Moses’ promise to him, as he made to the King of Edom, that “I will pass by only on my feet…”. This was likely because the wheels of carts, wagons and chariots would damage the roads by making ruts. This very road referred to in Holy writ, is still known today as the “Kings Highway”. It actually stretched from Heriopolis in Egypt, eastward across the Sinai Desert, to the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba, at the southernmost tip of the region of Palestine. From there it turned northward, passing through the land of Moab, past what is today Aman, Jordan, continuing to Sergiopolis, or modern-day Syria at the headwaters of the Euphrates River

Ever since Adam and Eve left the garden, man has been traveling, over the next hill, into regions ever increasingly distant - even to the moon. After the flood, as the human family multiplied, and after God scattered the people at the Tower of Babel, travel between places probably began almost immediately, for various purposes. As population groups grew and became nations, claiming domain over specific territories, the paths of travel to and through those territories were carefully guarded. They became a source of revenue, with the controlling entity collecting tolls and taxes, (sometimes even demanding a portion of the cargos transported). Soon pathways became highways, and highways later had side roads, or byways, that were used when it was necessary to avoid the main road for security or military reasons. To us today, U.S. Highway 31 is a byway, running almost parallel to I-65 as it traverses the nation north and south.

God instructed that there be made roads to the cities of refuge, Deuteronomy 19:3.

Some of the principle highways in the days of Israel led to the House of God, Judges 20:31.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the earliest historical indications of specific roadways date as early as 6,000 B.C., (not long after the time that Adam and Eve would have left the Garden of Eden). Archeologists have discovered stone paved streets in Ur dating from as early as 4,000 B.C. Stone paving was an important improvement because it made travel easier for wheeled vehicles. As travel increased, roads improved, low places being filled in and high places leveled. When a king or other wealthy person was planning a journey they would sometimes send men ahead to prepare the road for them. Examples of this practice may be seen in the Biblical text in Isaiah 40:3-4, “… Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:” In John 1:23 John the Immerser refers to this well-known practice concerning the coming of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

There are a lot of crooked roads; – sometimes on a really crooked road, with a lot of tight curves, one of us will remark to the other ‘this road is really circuitous’, and the other will say, ‘yeah, and it has a lot of curves too’. What happens when you are traveling a crooked road? You have to slow down, or risk rolling over; at best, all of the junk on the seat beside you ends up in the floorboard.

There are still a few dirt roads around. A portion of Shelby County road 51, between 61 and 55 remains unpaved. It is narrow, bumpy, rocky and at times extremely dusty, (although nowhere nearly as much so as the final few miles into Backwoods Camp). It is dangerous too because of careless drivers, accustomed to driving upwards of 60 MPH and more on the paved roads, who rarely slow down to compensate for the conditions of this unpaved road. Visibility is limited to only a few hundred feet at best, and even less in some places where there are sharp curves and steep hills. The course of the road likely follows the old Indian trail that used to pass through those woods; and the Indians probably followed a deer trail as it wound around and up and down, following the path of least resistance.

Dirt roads are usually marked on maps as “unimproved”. Many who would be Christians are traveling on unimproved roads, missing out on the signposts that God has given us in His word to guide us on our way. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:15 that we must study – He wrote to the church at Philippi,

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8).

We must fill our minds with knowledge of the scriptures, with righteous thoughts, images and ideas, if we are to be pleasing to God. We must be careful about what we put into our minds by way of entertainment because those things do affect our thoughts; the Psalmist wrote that as we think so we are, (Psalms 23:7); and in Psalms 119:105 we read, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Sometimes we encounter obstacles in the road; a farm implement going at a top speed of 8 to 12 mph, completely blocking the lane; or a construction crew; potholes and washouts sometimes occur or maybe a cow in the road. That’s nothing new; look at Gen 49:17 (The nation of) “Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.”

When you encounter such obstructions do you ever feel tempted to do something rash that you really shouldn’t? Obstacles on the Christian road come in the form of temptation. Paul gives us great encouragement though in 1 Corinthians 10:13,

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

Detours are not quite as common now as they were several years ago, when the government was building the highway infrastructure that we all take so much for granted. Dad used to tell about driving down a narrow road one night and he came to a pile of dirt in the middle of the road. There was a kerosene lantern on top of the pile of dirt, dimly flickering in the night breeze. Upon realizing that the road was blocked, Dad stopped quickly. The noise must have awakened the sleeping guard who came up to the car and asked ‘what’s the matter, didn’t you see the lantern?’ Dad asked, ‘what’s the lantern for?’ The guard replied, ‘so folks can see this pile of dirt here.’ ‘Well what’s the pile of dirt for?’ Dad asked. ‘To set the lantern on,’ the guard replied.

Sometimes people take a detour on the spiritual road – detours are dangerous, and often can lead one so far astray that they never return to the correct path. Beware! Don’t be tempted to follow some novel invention of men or some temptation to sin, the attractiveness of the sinful indulgences can lead you away from the narrow way – away from Christ, (James 1:14).

A road feature that is very common in Europe and is finding increasing use in America today is the traffic circle. It certainly has improved conditions in downtown Columbiana for getting around the old courthouse. Occasionally the police have had to instruct joy riders that it is not meant as a merry-go-round, once or maybe twice around the court house if you miss your turn is really all that should be necessary – not 15 minutes of driving around in a circle. Sometimes Christians can get caught up in a circle of complacency, failing to seek opportunities to lead others to Christ. We may miss opportunities to talk others about the Lord because we are too busy going around in our own little circle.

Paul admonished the church both at Galatia and at Thessolonica not to be weary in well-doing, (Galatians 6:9 and 2 Thessalonians 3:13). “Well-doing” includes obeying all of the commands of our Lord, like going out to teach others the gospel.

Sometimes U turns are permitted, and they come in very handy if you find that you are going in the wrong direction. We find many examples of U turns in the Bible, it is called repentance. Probably the most outstanding example of a U turn is that of Saul, Acts chapter 22.

Crossroads in unfamiliar territory always require a decision. You may be at a crossroads right now in your life, at the intersection of Broad and Narrow. When you come to a place in life where you know what you should do, and you face a decision of whether to do right or wrong, you are at a the intersection of Broad and Narrow. A fork in the road also poses a choice that must be made. The camp song ‘There’s a Fork In The Middle of the Road’ illustrates this very well. In Proverbs 4:14 we read the warning, “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.”

Some roads are dead ends. Most of the time nowadays they are marked with a sign at the entrance, like the road that leads to our house. It is amazing how many people will knowingly turn on a clearly marked dead end road anyway, just to see where it ends. Most of them end up turning around in our driveway, because the neighbors have a big Doberman. The Broad way is a dead end – eternal death in Hell.

Then there are the 4, 6, 8 sometimes even 12 lane roadways to get us from one place to another in a hurry. Some of these are called ‘freeways’ and it sometimes appears that some drivers think that means that they are FREE to drive and WAY they want too. The road to Heaven is not a freeway, it is a toll road, and Jesus has paid the toll for you and for me. In Psalms 16:11 we read, “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.”

Jesus said that the road to Heaven is straight (difficult) and narrow. He also said “ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”(John 8:32). Truth is neither broad nor flexible; it is specific, precise and narrow. 2 + 2 = 4, never 3.999 nor 4.001, it is always 4. The required velocity to achieve earth orbit is 17,500 mph, any slower and the spacecraft will be pulled back into the gravitational field of the earth and burn up in the atmosphere; any faster and it will be flung into the far reaches of space and be permanently lost. The laws of science, medicine or mathematics are very specific and narrow – the truth of the Gospel is also specific and narrow, that is not a negative connotation, it is simply fact. Mankind is not free to do that which pleases him when it comes to obeying God. Too many people today think that church services must be pleasing to them – they seem to forget that worship is not about you and me, it is about serving God!

Preparing for a journey of any distance in Old Testament times was a major ordeal. In fact, even as late as the 19^th century in this country it meant packing several large trunks, writing months in advance to arrange lodging with family or acquaintances or in the sparse hotels that were available. Even today, we put a lot of planning into a vacation or a long business trip. But we are also all on a journey that needs to be planned. It is a simple journey, and it begins with only 5 steps.

Hear – and hear only the word of God, don’t take my word or the word of any man for what the scriptures teach about your salvation. Romans 10:17;

Believe – John 8:24, “…if ye believe not that I am He ye shall die in your sins”

Repent - Luke 13:3

Confess –Matthew 10:32

Be Baptized for the remission of your sins – Acts 22:16

I’ve never paid much attention to the poetry of Maya Angelou, but the other day someone sent me a copy of her poem entitled, “Christian” I especially like the first two stanzas:

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin."
I'm whispering "I was lost,"
Now I'm found and forgiven.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need CHRIST to be my guide.

We all need our Lord to be our guide on the road of life – but the road we take is a choice we make.