Road Building

CHAPTER 4 ROAD BUILDING
Our Heavenly Father we ask you to be present and speak to the heart. This one who reads is seeking your guidance and loving care. Send the Holy Spirit to heal any hurt and show how much you care and love us. We know Lord that you have given each special gift for a specific purpose. Thank you Lord for caring enough to listen as our hearts seek you and loving enough to send your only son to die for our sins. In Jesus name we ask all things.

To go anywhere we need roads. The ease with which we travel on those roads depends on how well the roads have been constructed. It is clear that every step we take in this life has the potential to become a super highway or a dead end. I like to think that we are all road builders and the roads we leave behind have an influence on someone, whether it is our neighbor or our children. Our roads are made up of our attitudes and actions. It is possible then that our attitudes or actions will become habits, which could help or destroy any who follow on our road. It is safe to say that the smallest track has the potential to lead someone safely home or into the ditch. As I began to look into the road building process I saw there were several types of roads being built. Some were being built with good intentions, some with indifference, some with no regard for safety and many with no pride of ownership. I began to look at how roads were built and I began to see some parallels with our lives. Were the roads smooth and straight? Did they have good foundations? Were there adequate warning signs to point out the hazards?
Did the road have a strong foundation? Anything, which is built, must have a strong foundation or it will not withstand the storms, which are cast against it. Any road we build must have a good roadbed, strong and sure to maintain its load. That roadbed must be built with God directed doctrine not with man-made tradition. It must be built with solid rock not with wood hay and stubble. It must be built with faith in God not with faith in Wall Street. With Jesus not with man made ideals. Our roads must also be straight. They must go directly to the planned destination, not wander aimlessly in all directions. In this age of high-speed travel our roads must be smooth and free of potholes. Other wise those who follow might find it difficult to travel on our roads.
Why should we be so concerned about the roads we leave behind? Because you can be sure someone will follow you down the road you build. That someone might be a child or it might be a friend or some unknown stranger seeking shelter. While we might not have problems traveling down our road some that follow may be lame or weak. They may not have the self-confidence, and be as sure-footed as we. Some may be slow walkers and not be able to travel in the fast lane. Others may be dim of vision and not be able to see the warning signs posted. They might miss the curves and pit falls. A wreck on this interstate could be devastating to someone who cannot see. Some travelers on our roads will be children. Are our roads safe for a child to walk on? Is the road you leave behind a road you are proud of? Are they roads you would want your children or grandchildren to travel down? Are the signs we post on our highway clear to point out the dangers? Is the highway well lit so as to guide a wandering traveler? Or are you just hoping that those who follow will not stumble and fall off the road. Or do you even care if anyone travels down your road? While we can’t go back and correct the problems with the roads we have already built we can begin to construct good sound and safe roadways for future travel. We cannot know how others will travel down our roads or if they will reach their destination, but we can leave a road which will give those that do follow a chance to miss some of the pitfalls and difficulties we have faced. While we cannot know the destination of those who follow we can provide a map, which will at least give them some direction. It is our responsibility to provide a map, which points in the right direction. It is the responsibility of those who follow to use the map.

A State gains a reputation by the quality of the roads, which cross its boundaries. So too a person is known by the road they leave behind. It is also said that a person is known by the road they travel. Does the road you are building lead into darkness without any warning signs or light? Is your road built with a strong foundation? Is it smooth and straight? Is the road you are traveling down one you would want someone else to follow? Remember how you build your road could mean the difference in someone’s life. It could even mean someone’s life.

As I travel along the highways of our country I am reminded of a road in the Bible that has a strange resemblance to the road of life. It is the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. I think we could draw some comparisons not only to our lives but also to the life of the church. In the story of the road from Jerusalem to Jericho one could either travel up or down depending on where you wanted to go. Today people can either go up or down the road it’s their choice. When people leave the lofty place of conviction, high standards, moral purity and Godliness they choose to go down the road. There are examples in the Bible of those who chose to go down the road. David chose to go down the road of lust and the price he had to pay was extreme. Samson chose to go down the road of desire and it cost him dearly. The prodigal son chose to go down the road of materialism and it cost him his material goods. Young people today are throwing aside the standards and principles, which made our country great and are choosing to go down the same road, which brought an end to the cities of Sodom and Gomorra, the Roman Empire and many other prominent World societies. Churches too have chosen to go down a road of indifference and non-involvement. Preachers have chosen the road of popularity and fame. Our nation has chosen to go down a road, which is void of the lofty values, which has sustained us for over two hundred years. Politicians have chosen the road of party rather than the road of conscience. The road all have chosen is a dangerous road. Just like the road from Jerusalem to Jericho it is filled with robbers and bandits who lurk along the roadside to catch the unsuspecting traveler, whether it be child or adult. The devil has been pictured as a thief and as a thief he does not want anyone to know where he is or what he is doing. Like the robbers on the Jericho road the devil is heartless. He will leave you bleeding and hurting. He is deceptive and often times he will appear as just another traveler on the road. As with the traveler on the Jericho road who fell among thieves you too will be stopped, stripped, and left for dead. You will loose your good name; your material goods and you could even loose your life. Because we don’t want to get involved our kids are being stripped of values we once held dear and men fought and died to keep, values that molded this country into a great nation. Why, because we don’t want to get involved. We are a nation of thinkers yet we will let someone else think for us when it comes to morality and what is right and wrong. We don’t want to get involved with our neighbors, the church, or the community unless there is something in it for us. As we look at the traveler on the Jericho road we find he was hurt and left for dead. We too will be hurt? Sin always hurts. Always has always will! Our traveler was helpless. Just like him the world will leave you. Religion will leave you, much like the Levite who passed by on the other side. Politics will leave you. Wall Street will leave you. Jesus is the only one who will not leave you. He will lift you up and bind your wounds and give the innkeeper money to take care of you. He will also come back and look in on you to see if you are all right. Preachers won’t do that, church members won’t do that, politicians sure won’t do that and it’s a sure bet the world won’t do that. With the moral decay running rampant in our country we could soon be fighting a war within our borders. If the United States is to be defeated it will have to be defeated from within. If we continue down the road of indifference, immorality, and non-convection we will one day come to a very sudden and harsh end to our road. So then we are faced with a choice of which way we are to travel up the road to God or down the road to destruction. It’s our choice.