Living as a Christian has often been described as walking down a path. Likewise, choosing to live by the cultural norms could also be described as walking down a path. Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken describes a traveler choosing between two roads. While it is not considered to be a religious work, the poem is an illustration of choosing a course for one's life. It is printed here. Read it and see how it may apply to your own life choices.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

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Come and listen to my counsel.
I'll share my heart with you
and make you wise.
Proverbs 1:23

As we live out our lives, we always have choices we must make. This is especially true in our relationships with others, but true also about life in general. We make choices. As I reflect back on some choices I've made along my journey, some turned out better than others. I have often strayed from the path I should have chosen, but I know that God always helps me when I want to find my way back to Him.

As I look back on wrong choices I've made, it seems almost every bad choice was made when I made the choice solely on my own judgment with only my needs in mind. I had left God out of the picture. In the proverb above, God calls for us to come and sit with Him, to listen to what He tells us. He promises to share His heart with us and help us to be wise in our choices. What an incredible promise of friendship. Don't we wish all our friendships were this close and intimate? Don't we wish that we had a friend who always had perfect advice for us, and would always lead us to make the right choices in our lives? God calls us into an intimate friendship with Him.

I have so much yet to learn. I tend to think that I should be able to handle the small things in life, and should only have to bring the big choices before God for His blessing (asking Him often to bless a choice I've already made). But so often I falter on even the small things that I thought were so small God didn't need to be involved. But I am slowly learning that He wants to be involved in every part of my life, even in the small things and simple choices, just like a very good and close friend would want to be.

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I remember having my grandmother tell me the parable of the wise man's house upon the rock when I was a child. I loved to hear the story and sing the song. As a child, I could never understand why anyone would choose to build like the foolish guy "upon the sand". Now I understand the parable a bit more and realize the deception of the world and how temptation can get the best of me.

Do you ever feel that even as a Christian you tend to want the way of the world? Is it easier to do what makes you feel good or what God intends for you? I have to say, I waiver on my way or God's way.

I suppose that's where investing my time wisely and seeking fellowship with other Christians comes in. I have to make a conscious effort to keep my spiritual life a priority; it may sound silly to some, but I have to wake up early enough to have my devotional and prayer time with God. I need to start my day off right and ask God to lead me in His ways and convict me of the wrongs in my life.

Make your best effort this week to seek God. Meditate on His word......Psalm 25:1-5,

Psalm 128:1, Micah 6:8, 2 Corinthians 12:9 and 1 John 2:16-17.

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Yogi Berra, the famous catcher of the New York Yankees, is credited with saying, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it." How many times in our lives have we come to the proverbial "fork in the road?" As we journey through life, we can choose several paths to travel on. When we are young, we start on the right path. As we get older, we are faced with choices that make the correct path difficult to choose. How do we react when we get to the fork in the road? There is no GPS device that you can use to get you back on the right path once you have deviated from it. There have been times that I felt that if I strayed off the path just a little bit, it would be easy to get back on track. This was not the case. When I wandered off the path, it got easier to keep wandering and thinking, "the road back to the right path isn't that far, I'll get back in a little bit." The sad fact is, when we stray from the right path, it is hard to get back. The further we stray, the further we go from living our life according to God's plan, and we begin living life according to our plan. I have tried that plan, and it doesn't work!

I believe that getting back to God's path is the only way that guarantees a productive and fulfilling life. The first several books of Proverbs speak of choosing the right path. Chapter 4 tells of choosing the right path and not straying to the right or the left. Proverbs 4:15 "Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way." This is sound advice. God has a plan for each and every one of us. God sets us on the right path, but sometimes tempting things lead us astray. I pray that as we travel through life, we continue to walk on the right path, living for God and God's plan, rather than walking alone on our path, which will eventually lead to a dead end and quite possibly a life of misery.

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There are two roads before you. One road is wide and newly paved! The other is small and rocky. This paints the picture of the choice we deal with throughout our lives, the choice to go the easy way, or God's way. You see, the wide road represents the world, which is ruled by sin. It's the easy way out, but it only leads to a dead end. The other road represents the road to eternal life.

This road is rough. Roots have grown through its cement and pot holes lay every couple feet. Now you may ask, "Why would God make this road so difficult." That my friend is why so many people choose the other road. God purposely set this road the way He did to test us. He wants to make sure that we don't just love Him because it's easy. He want's to know that we're willing to give up the comfort of our lives to follow His path. That is the test of true love.

Now, let's say you've decided to take this road that God has made. As you travel throughout your life, you see that the wide road of sin often lies beside the road of God. Be careful when you see this, for sin is trying to tempt you. This can happen when it seems like things in your life just get worse and worse. It happens when you are vulnerable and exhausted. It is in these times that your love for God shows.

Eventually, if you have chosen to take God's path to the end you will reach the end of the road and find God welcoming you to eternal life in Heaven. Will you love God so much that you are willing to sacrifice your entire life for Him? Are you willing to take the hard route through life, or will you take the easy road only to find a dead end. God has given you the freedom to choose, which road will you take?

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