Which way, which way?

I am about to embark on a journey, a journey that will consume my whole life on earth. I am standing in a foyer with three doors in front of me, while holding the Bible. I have the Bible open and am reading it, looking for answers as to which door I should go through.

Each door has a peephole through which I can look, and I can see a glimpse of what there is to see behind that door. I can see as far as my eyes will allow, but beyond that is the major part of the journey, which I cannot see. I can choose which door to walk through, and each door opens up to a journey. I can go back and forth between these journeys, but if I return to a previous journey I must start at the place where I left off. I have no idea what the journey will be like once I pass the part to where I can see through the peephole.

I walk up to the first door and I see worldliness – drunken debauchery, drugs, promiscuity and money. I know that is not what I want and don’t even think about going on that journey. I don’t like the look of it now and I know that it will not get any better; in fact it will just get worse.

I walk up to the second door and behind this door I see the path of God. I see a path of sacrifice to the Lord, of service, of obedience, of love. A path of placing Jesus number one in my life no matter what. It does not look particularly interesting or glitzy and glamorous at this stage, but as I read the Bible I realise that it tells me that this path will only get better and better. This journey is a long term investment. If I look back after 1 year, or 5 years, I will not be that impressed by my progress. But if I look back after 10, 20 or 50 years, I see that it just keeps getting better and better, that the longer I go on, the more my investment grows exponentially. The further I get on this journey the better it gets, and so the key is to get on it as soon as possible and stick with it so that I can see the long term benefits as I go. This is the “best is yet to come” journey. All of what I know of this journey is what the Bible tells me, that if I stick to it, it will be the best and will continue to get better as I go further.

Behind door number three is the lukewarm journey. I see exciting things, pretty things and happy things. They all look good. None of these things are necessarily evil or bad, but they are not necessarily all good either. Things like a fancy car, beautiful people, a beach house, fame, success and money. I can still live as a Christian – read my Bible and pray and go to church but deep down I know that this journey is one for my own instant gratification. I know that the things of this journey will not last. But I don’t care, because right now they are satisfying my desire and they are not intrinsically bad, so therefore I am able to still practice my religion. My car will get scratched, beauty will fade and the success will be short remembered.

I know that I should go through the second door, because the Bible tells me so. It also tells me that God will give me the desires of my heart and satisfy all my needs.
But I want the things behind the third door, just for now. When I get bored of them, which I know I will, then I can go back and go through the second door. How do I choose door number two now and not live with the struggle of wanting what is behind door number three? How do I sacrifice what the world has to offer me and go for what the Lord offers me and not constantly want for that?
One word – faith. It’s what God calls us to do – to follow him to a place that may not make sense to us, or may not be what we want right now. That’s faith – walking a journey that we’ve been told is best for us, even though we cant see it now. Only by taking the step of faith, and persevering will we eventually reap the exponential benefits of the journey. It's a big call, but then so are the rewards.

Be blessed, make music, live with passion for Christ
NS