8/13/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 2. 5-6)

“I direct you [if your desire is to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven], ‘Go in through the strait gate because wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way that is leading to destruction, and many are those going in through it [and many are those who will be destroyed by it.] By comparison, how strait [is] the gate, and how compressed [is] the way that is leading to life, and [sadly] few are those who are finding it!‘” (Matthew 7.13-14)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Before we reflect further on this theme of “straight paths,” it would serve us well to get something straight. To do that, I would lift up the passage found above from Matthew 7.13-14. The context of this passage is critical to develop our understanding of “straight paths.” Whether God is making a straight path, as we heard out of the wisdom of Solomon which was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, or whether we are to make a straight path for Him which is called for by our desire to be saved, there can be no confusion as to the difference between straight and strait. These are two different words and direct us to two differing understandings. Let’s tackle first the definitions and applications of both words.

Straight: (1) an adjective meaning extending in the same direction without curving, and (2) an  adverb meaning directly or unimpeded. We certainly can understand an adjectival “straight” line. We draw them with a ruler’s edge or something accomodating that guideline. Our roads are rarely straight in total. There may be sections which are far straighter than others. This usually happens to accomodate the terrain or established property lines. But, in those instances the adverbial meaning can help to enhance our understanding of travelling a line that is not so straight but is the better choice for traveling because it is “the most direct and unimpeded” route. How often have we taken the only road up, and especially down a hill or mountainside, which wends its way from bottom to top or vice-versa. If we go slowly, we are able to stay in the directed land as the proper line of sight for travelling. The fast we go, and most always excessively so, we take the most direct line which cuts through the corners as much as possible. Watching the race up Pike’s Peak or any Tour de France downhill from a mountain climb would give us the visual for such an effort. The call of Solomon or John the Baptizer to recognize the “straight path” which is fixed between God and humanity has this in mind. If our intention is to gain the height of Heaven or the peak of living righteously as the purpose of our life’s performance, then we would commit ourselves to moving straight away, straight ahead or straight to the heart regardless of the challenge which faces us.

Strait: a noun meaning a narrow channel joining two larger bodies of water, constricted or tight-fitting (as in space). Recently, I watched a video of a young man who had it in mind to dig a channel through a section of beach. His intent was to bring ocean water into an inlet. It may have been an innocent endeavor born out of curiousity. It turned out to be a disaster as the force of the ocean water created a torrent once the trickle of a narrow channel reached the inlet. What started as not more than a one to two foot wide carving in the sand became a roaring river fifteen to twenty feet wide. It cut off all traffic moving along the beach for miles as now there was no meaning of crossing without a bridge. It most certainly was a “straight way,” but it was following the guideline of the “strait and narrow.” It wasn’t a narrow channel. It wasn’t constricting. It wasn’t tight-fitting. I am sure, however, the handcuffs on the digger’s wrist were. It is in this vein of thinking, we can see the teaching of Jesus urging prospective followers and “old hands” alike to maintain the path which was the “strait and narrow.” It wasn’t about a line of travel as much as it was a line of thinking. When the United States took on the task of carving out the Panama Canal so as to minimize ship traffic from one coast to the other, they did not choose the easiest path of least resistance. There was no sandy beach to be dug through. Instead, they searched for the narrowest width of land and set about the diligent and arduous task of blasting and digging out solid rock. They needed the rock to withstand the force and presence of water which would pass from east to west and west to east. It could not collapse. It had to maintain its presence against the force working against it. This would be a great benchmark for understanding what kind of faith we must possess and the life lived to maintain the development of it in an eroding world.

We hear another story with this theme in mind as Jesus taught about a man who built his house of solid rock. (Matthew 7.24-27) When the storms and tide rose against it, the house did not fall. But, the man who built his house on the sand found it shifting quickly and unstable. It was as if it was sinking sand and the fall of the house was not only predictable but substantial. All would be lost. I remember watching an early episode of Survivor where this truth became evident. It is obvious that none of the “tribe” had heard of Jesus’ teaching. Jesus was, of course, a builder. He knew of the balance of nature and what it would take to build something “rock steady.” But, this tribe did not heed wise counsel. They didn’t have any. Their need was immediate and requiring as little effort as possible. Building on the sand near the water seemed expiditious and appropriate. It seemed that way until the afternoon monsoonal rain feel. The water rolling down the hillside actually found a dry crevace to travel to the sea. It was like a “strait” funnel aimed directly at the camp which stood between the mouth and the ocean. Needless to say, virtually everything the tribe possessed was lost.

Beware, mighty ones of God, on how you are fashioning and shaping your lives in this world. While we should be taking the straightest route from earth to heaven, from possible defeat to realized victory and from sin to salvation, we should also be aware of the “strait” gate and the “narrow” way. Not everything works. Just because we “can” do something does not mean we “should” do something. What fits the qualifications of “righteous” living? What thought creates the greatest level of survival. I am not talking about “survival of the fittest” which has been used by some such as Darwin as the descriptor of the changes in nature. I am talking about “survival of the fittest” as a spiritual reality which is dependent on the word and will of God beginning in the heart, mind and soul. This is where our structure and way of thinking and acting prove out. No other will do. We need to be “strait” about “straight.”

TODAY’S PRAYER IN LIGHT OF GOD’S WORD:

Father, You have revealed Yourself to us best in Jesus the Christ. By Him and Him alone shall we gain the eternal life and our place in eternal rest, living for You always. Show us more and by Your Holy Spirit instruct us in the way we should go, the truth we should reveal and the life we shall live with you forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.