Running on the "Road of Life"

     One activity I enjoy, at least most of the time, is running. It not only helps me stay in shape, it allows me time to reflect and meditate on a variety of thoughts. This summer while on a trip with one of my sons, I was running in northeast Ohio. I was on a road I had never been on before and quickly realized it had a lot of curves in the road.  This can be an uncomfortable feeling for a runner because you do not want a car to suddenly come upon you. By the way, the driver of the vehicle does not want this kind of surprise either. In this case, the road was designed in such a way to alleviate my fear. When they paved this road, they included a berm. It was a wide enough berm that I could run on it and it allowed for cars to safely pass me. This is especially helpful when approaching a bend in the road. You don’t know what is around that bend and the berm keeps you away from any unexpected oncoming traffic.

     As I stated, my runs provide me time to reflect on life. Considering the berm of the road was one of those reflections. When comparing the berm of the road with the whole road, it is relatively narrow, but it is the safest place on the road for me. This caused me to reflect further on how Christians walk or run on the “road of life”.  There are three ways a Christian can walk on this “twisty” road called life.

     The first and safest way to walk or run is to stay on the berm. The berm is narrow.  It is defined by the painted lane stripe on the edge of the main part of the road and the outside edge of the berm. If we stay within the boundaries of that berm we are in the safest place. To step off the outside edge of the berm invites the possibility of injuring yourself because the ground can be rough and uneven. You can stumble and fall, twisting an ankle or even worse. To step over the painted line puts you on the main part of the road and places you in harm’s way with oncoming traffic. When we apply this picture to the Christian life, this is where God wants us to be. God has put boundaries (the truths and principles of the Bible) in our life to identify the berm and support (the Holy Spirit) to help keep us on the berm.

     The second way we can walk or run on the road is to straddle the painted line which defines the boundary of the main part of the road. In other words, we are running with one foot on the berm and the other foot on the road. This may seem like a reasonable option to take because the main part of the road is broad in comparison to the berm.  If there is oncoming traffic, I can safely move over to the berm.  This way may work well on a straight road, but it is risky on a twisting road. Literally, a vehicle could come out of nowhere from around a curve and you may not have time to react. This is the way many Christians live their lives--one foot in the world and the other foot running or walking with Christ. They are not taking advantage of the safety of the berm, but believe they can operate in both worlds and not get hurt. They are trusting themselves to move out of harm’s way from an oncoming vehicle. However, they are deceived in thinking this way.

     The last way we can run on the road is to have both feet planted on the main part of the road. From one perspective, we have the whole road to run on and can avoid falling off the edge of the road. A more accurate perspective is that we are placing ourselves in danger of being seriously injured or killed by a car coming around that blind bend in the road. We approach this with a self-confidence that we can react to any situation we may face on the road. This last way of running represents a Christian who is firmly planted in the world. They have left the safety of the “berm” and are trusting in themselves to navigate the world without being spiritually hurt. Unfortunately, they are hurt spiritually by the oncoming traffic of the world and often are not aware that they have been hurt. In the physical world, the hurt we may experience with our encounter with a car is evident and quantifiable. The spiritual “hurts” are more insidious. It typically will be a series of small hurts that we don’t feel when they occur, but over time we have become a spiritual “hood ornament” being carried away by the world. We are not even aware it is happening. The series of small hurts have dulled our spiritual “nervous system” to the increasing larger hurt and destruction in our lives.

     A passage in the New Testament that illustrates our choices in our daily walk is Matthew 7: 12--“Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction…” (NASB). In context, this passage is talking about our choice for eternity, but it does illustrate a similar choice we make in our daily walk with Christ. The berm of the road is narrow but safe, whereas, the road is broad and leads to spiritual failure.

     How are you walking or running on the “road of life?” What part of the road are you on in your daily walk or run with Christ? God has given us the means to walk or run on the berm of the road. Let’s not get distracted by the size of the road, the other traffic, or even the scenery around us.  These things can cause us to swerve off the berm and into a ditch or into a car, rather than safely running the narrow path God has wonderfully provided.

-David P. Staggers                                                                                     March 1, 2021