I have been navigating around the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex daily for my business for nearly twenty years. When I first started, I was what you might call “old-school” in that I had a paper map spread out before me. Oftentimes I would have to pull over to check street signs and compare it to my trusty map hoping that I had not deviated from the route that would get me to my destination. After a few years of that painstaking method, my wife presented me with a most amazing gift. It was an electronic device called a GPS which, by now, I don’t think requires explanation. What a marvel of technology! Gone were the days of writing out my route and trying to follow the fine print of a map while trying to drive. Now, in terms of navigation, I can say that I am living a carefree existence of simply following that pleasant voice to turn left here and turn right there.

I’m sure most of us, however, have experienced moments where you have caused your GPS some stress. You’re approaching your turn, the GPS dutifully tells you, “In a quarter mile, turn left on xyz street.” You approach the turn and, without thinking, you turn right. The GPS immediately chimes in, “In 500 feet, make a U-Turn!” You’re in no position to cross three lanes of crowded traffic so you keep going. But your GPS is relentless! “At the next intersection, make a U-Turn!” And it won’t let up until you make the course correction. This is a good thing, right? What is the point of having navigation technology if you’re not going to follow the instructions it’s giving out? If you don’t follow the instructions, you will not arrive at your preferred destination. Wouldn’t it be just plain absurd to shout back at your GPS, “Stop telling me I’m going in the wrong direction! That’s offensive! Why must you be so judgmental?”

Every human being that has lived and ever will live is traveling a road to a final destination. We know what that destination is; we don’t like to think about it, but it is the reality of the human experience. The end of the road is death. But what if you could set the GPS to take you to an alternate destination? What if that destination was called “eternal life”? Is that a destination worth pursuing? Would it be wise to get angry and frustrated when the guide, the GPS as it were, indicated that we were on the wrong road or had deviated from the correct road?

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ told his students to, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

This is a surprising statement coming from the man who is adored and apparently followed by billions on the earth today. With billions professing their devotion to Jesus Christ, how can the way be called difficult and narrow with only the few following it to that preferred destination? Notice what Jesus says in the same chapter, just a few verses down:

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:21-23)

This is an alarming truth, a reality, declared by Jesus Christ himself. There are many, many he says, that think they are following the right path when in fact they are not. Many might be calling Jesus Christ “Lord” only to discover at the end of the road that he never knew them. If “practicing lawlessness” is the indicator that we’re traveling that broad road that leads to destruction, then it only stands to reason that there are laws we ought to be following. Many in the world of Christianity would call this “legalism” as opposed to “grace”. This is a key issue that might be worth coming to terms with when trying to figure out if you’re with the many on that broad road that leads to destruction or the few that are on the narrow road that leads to life. Notice this brief conversation Jesus had with another inquiring person:

“Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to him, "…if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." (Matthew 19:16-17)

Can the GPS instructions be any clearer? To learn more about how keeping God’s Commandments can work in harmony with receiving God’s grace, we’ve got two important study aids to offer you. Request your free copy of The Ten Commandments and What Does the Bible Teach About Grace? These and many other topics are provided free of charge and are published by the United Church of God.

By Lynn Leiby

Aug 14th, 2024