End of the Road

Screen capture from https://journeyswiththemessiah.org/

One website I visit different times through the years is Journeys With The Messiah.

I received an e-mail from them that showed a number of new pictures of the Master - one is “End of the Road” and (as usual) it spoke to me.

Here’s a man – our Messiah - standing at a blocked road, beside a cross. I can almost hear unbelievers’ comments about how He is always blocking our means of achieving happiness with His Commandments and rules those Christians have to obey.

I do wish they could see Him as I do. An omnipotent, omniscient entity beyond our comprehension who not only created (Genesis 1:1) but inhabited a human body to do what we could not (John 1; 3-16).

As for His Commandments, there are only two that are the base of all the remainder, according to His response to a trick question. (Matthew 22:36-40).  Compare any law with these two and you will see that His laws are very basic and do not need thousands of pages telling people what to do.  Read the book He inspired and you’ll find more examples of people who did not follow those two rules – and the consequences of their actions.

So, why is this photo showing a blocked road? I can think of a couple of reasons:

1) it’s the wrong road;
2) the traveler is not qualified.

There are two destinations defined in the Bible for us after our life on earth is complete. One leads to an eternity with the Creator of Genesis and we’ve been given glimpses of that destination throughout the Bible – our main piece of information is that God is there. The other destination lacks God, and lacks hope of ever hearing of or from God again. I prefer the first destination, and I believe God provides that for those who believe.

In this photo, the man representing Jesus could be stopping our journey down the wrong path - or He could be offering to accompany us along the right path. We simply have to decide whether We believe He is able to provide our needs - or not.

God put that decision totally in our hands. I read of two men who literally made their decision in the last moments of their lives - one on Jesus’ left, the other on the right. One of them simply asked to be remembered when Jesus came into His kingdom. There are verses that cover this in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19. Mark tells us it fulfills prophecy in Isaiah 53:12, but Luke is the only one that tell us of the thief’s request to be remembered. Perhaps Mary was close enough to hear those words.

I’ve heard people say that the salvation offered us is not that simple, but God inspired verses that says it is – Luke’s thief on the cross, Luke 23:39-43 and Paul’s jailer in Acts 16:30-31.
Living those two commandments is not as easy as salvation, though. We are better equipped to sin through self protection and our desires. That’s why I’m a believer that Jesus is our help along the way, as he helped disciples - only losing one to his own desires.

What if I’m wrong? What have I lost? If I’m right, what have I gained? Does using “you” instead of “I” change the equation? Or does changing the person asking?

I just pray that readers will ask themselves - who is Jesus? Why should I care? Then search for why so many do care, and how lives are changed.

Do stop by and visit the photographs taken for Journeys With The Messiah. How do they strike you?