The Road Less Traveled

By Cheri Cowell –

Whether we call them New Year’s resolutions or simply think of them as plans for the start of a new year, many of us choose new paths this time of year. When choosing a path forward we can follow the road less traveled, but if we are honest, most of us prefer the path of relative ease. Crowded and filled with familiarity, this road appears to go where we want to go, after-all “everyone” is on it. One look at the commercials this time of year and we know this crowded thoroughfare—buy this product or that and you’ll look younger, feel smarter, reach your dreams. You can have it all, they scream, if only you… Songs are made to glorify this super-highway and books tempt us with stories of its fulfillment. However, once lulled by its smooth surface, we find little truth in its travel brochures. The grass isn’t greener on the other side—weeds still grow there, too.

The lesson is clear: be sure you are not fooled by their flashy advertisements. The road less traveled, the more difficult way is the true path to fulfillment. This familiar passage in Matthew speaks of this narrow way, but separated from the next passage we don’t know how to find this road and will easily fall prey to deceptive advertising. So, what is this big secret? Simple. Look at the fruit. Jesus asks, “Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” The road less traveled might be less crowded, but those who’ve found it will have the life those on the other paths only dream of.

PRAYER: Thank You for being the Gate through which the road less traveled passes. Help me to be aware of false advertising, and to resist the lull of the path of relative ease.

“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, 15-20 NIV).

Today’s devotion is by Cheri Cowell, author of Direction: Discernment for the Decisions of Your Life, a great book for those looking for a guide on the road less traveled. Visit her website at http://www.CheriCowell.com