Two roads for mankind

Waldmark, 21 April 2006

There are two roads for mankind to travel during life on earth. One is wide and inviting; its name is Smooth Life Boulevard. The other is narrow and sometimes difficult: Next Life Lane. Their respective destinations are the inverse of their apparent glamour.

Shortly after God had created the Heavens and the Earth He went on to make a Paradise in which He put man and woman and plant and animal. Animals didn’t eat each other, neither did man eat the flesh of any animal.

Alas, things went disastrously wrong. Eve sinned, as did Adam, and this not only caused the introduction of Death into Creation, it also completely upturned the food-chain. We shouldn’t, when pondering the past, think that only the Flood caused a disruption. The worldwide Flood merely moved mountains. Sin, on the other hand, corrupted the DNA of ever living organism.

But God did not intent to leave the Earth to Death. He unfolded His plan to bring mankind back to its Intended Destiny, which is to be near God. The road that leads to our Intended Destiny, however, is a difficult one. Not only because there are stumbling blocks on it, but mostly because man and woman are by nature (which of course has also changed when our DNA got corrupted) not inclined to find much pleasure on it.

There is another road, a brightly-lit one, not far away. That other road offers much excitement and instant gratification, although it eventually leads to eternal Death. But it has strong pulling power and a sticky pavement. It’s easy to get on to, but not so easy to leave. Not only does it supply for many needs, its most defining characteristic is that all the way it promises a tempting array of glamour and fun. Moreover, it guarantees sublime satisfaction. Many people indeed, are determinedly following this wide road, convinced that undreamed of bonusses are awaiting all who remain indifferent to any and all warnings about the possible side-effects.

So the narrow Road to Intended Destiny is not only difficult to stay on because of its sometimes rough, uneven pavement, but mostly because the other road is so alluring. Even at places where one would imagine mere gravity alone to cause people staying on the narrow road, even there the brightly-lit road excerts its tempting lure of promises we all want to hear. Christians believe that one needs a guide on the narrow road as no man or woman is able on one’s own to find the way and then safely stay on it till the end. In Christendom this guide is called a shepherd named Jesus Christ.

The ultimate destination is, as I mentioned earlier, to be near God when God will be King and we his subjects. Which is why the Bible refers to that destination as “the Kingdom of God.”

To many it may seem a bit like some kind of adventure game but there is one major difference: if you’re found on the wrong road at the time of your death, there is no game-over.