WHAT PATH ARE YOU ON?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.

Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.

For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble. They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.

Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

Proverbs 4:10-19, 26-27

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The question for today is a simple one but the answer has immediate and eternal implications.

The question is: What path are you on?

Or stated a different way: How are you walking in life before the Lord?

We will look at two scripture passages today that address this matter. Let’s look at the first one from Proverbs, Chapter 4:

Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.

Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.

For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble. They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.

Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

Through these early chapters of Proverbs, our focus has been on the benefits of seeking and finding divine wisdom and the consequences of ignoring and rejecting it. This theme continues in these verses from Chapter 4.

Where does divine wisdom lead us in regard to our walk with the Lord?

Solomon shares that we will be on a straight path, a path that will not hamper our steps or produce stumbling blocks when we choose to run. We are clear to do what the Lord calls us to do without worry of hindrance. This path, the righteous path the Lord wishes to lead us on through His wisdom, is a path illuminated by the light of the very Holy Spirit who directs our steps upon it. Solomon shares that the path of righteousness is like the morning sun that shines bright. Indeed, anyone who seeks brightness will only find it through the wisdom of the Lord.

Conversely, we are to avoid the other possible path we can walk on, the path of the wicked, the way of evildoers who cannot rest without doing evil or influencing another to follow their ways. Those who walk off the straight path, those who go astray and embrace sin over righteousness and holiness will find themselves out of the light of the Lord and instead in deep darkness, so much so that they lose sight of the very sin that is keeping them away from the light and the straight path the Lord beckons them to.  

Yes, we have two paths we can take. One is straight and leads to righteousness, the other leads away from the straight path into the darkness of sin, evil, and wickedness. It’s easy to walk either path, easy to remain obedient to God’s will and way, and easy to fail and fall into sin and distant from God’s favor.

For this reason, Solomon’s word ring true for everyone:

Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

Note that there are only two paths discussed here. The straight path of righteousness and any path that leads away from it. We’re either walking the straight path or we’re off course, having turned to the left or the right, leaving the light and entering into the darkness. There is no other option.

And so, the question crying out from the scriptures for all of us today is, “What path are you on?”

Are you on the straight path or astray from it?

Solomon wasn’t the only one who had something to say about the paths we should travel. Look at these words from our Savior Jesus:

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

The road that leads to life, that is the road of righteousness, holiness, and obedience to the Lord, is narrow and accessed through a very narrow gate. For the only way to find yourself on this path is to follow the Lord Jesus, the One who we’re to be emulating in the way we think, speak, and act as Christians. You want to walk the narrow road? The only way is to believe, trust, and follow the One who is the Way, the only One who can lead you to the Father (John 14:6). There is no other road that leads to eternal life. You enter through Jesus and you travel along with Him. This and this alone will lead you to life now and forever.

As for the wide road, the gate is always wide open and welcoming to all. There is plenty of room here and many travel it. It’s a lot easier traveling here because there are no rules or restrictions on travel. You can be who you want to be, believe what you want to believe, follow and admire whoever you want to follow and admire. Everything looks good on this path, enticing many to take it. Sin and wickedness abound but hardly anyone notices because everyone is doing it. It’s acceptable and just part of life on the wide road.

The sad part of this is that those on the wide path can’t even see through its darkness to see where it leads. They are blinded from the destruction and ruin that awaits them. In my opinion, it’s one of the greatest tragedies in life.

This is why we need to choose carefully where we are walking and who we are walking with. The only sure way to ensure we’re on the narrow road and the straight paths of righteousness is to hold onto the hand of Jesus and never let go. He will always be walking the narrow way and with His hand in ours, so will we.

Friends, my prayer for all of us today is that we will check and see the hand we’re holding onto. For only in doing this will we be able to answer the question:

What path are you on?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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