Tuesday, August 24

I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. I hold fast to your statues, O Lord, do not let me be put to shame. Psalm 119:30-31


As you read this today, ask God to cause your love for his word to grow and to enable you to apply his truth to your daily life.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12

Could there be two more different men than Robert Frost and Robert Plant? In case you don’t recognize both names, Robert Frost was an early 20th century American poet and Robert Plant was a late 20th century British rock and roll icon who founded the band Led Zeppelin.

Yet both, in their own way, offered words oddly reminiscent of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. In 1920 Frost wrote a poem entitled “The Road Not Taken,” which began and ended with the following words:

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry I could not travel both…
I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.”

A half century later Plant (along with Jimmy Page) wrote “Stairway to Heaven,” which included these lines;

“Yes there are two paths you can go by,
But in the long run,
there’s still time to change the one you’re on.”

Nearly two thousand years earlier, Jesus said, essentially, that there are two roads when it comes to spiritual truth. One road is wide and easy – but leads to destruction. The other is narrow and hard, yet leads to eternal life. Robert Frost reminds us that the road we choose makes all the difference; and Robert Plant reminds us that there’s still time to change the road we are on. I believe Jesus would agree with both “Roberts.”

Do you know which road you are on? The Bible teaches that we all start out on the “wide road,” that is, the road of selfishness, sin and ultimate separation from God. We only turn around and step on the “narrow road” that leads to life when we consciously put our faith in Jesus Christ and what he accomplished through his death and resurrection.

If you aren’t sure which road you are on, or if you aren’t certain of your spiritual destiny, you can be sure by opening your heart to Christ and asking him to come into your life as Savior and Lord. The Bible teaches that when we confess Christ as Lord and believe in our hearts he was raised from the dead, we are saved (Romans 10:9-10), that is we enter the narrow gate that is marked “eternal life.”

Close your time with God by either asking Christ to become Lord of your heart and life; or by thanking him for leading you onto the road marked “eternal life!”

Brian Coffey