If you see that subject line and think “ice cream,” then you are probably detached from the real world of mind-boggling indebtedness, pro-government propaganda, anti-government propaganda, “in your face” perversion, and the confusion and mental fragmentation that accompanies it all. I am, of course, referring to a real road, a word we get from the old English word, “rad,” which means any journey on horseback. Simply put, a road is the way there.
Rumble Strips
These days, most of us take smooth roads for granted. We can travel coast to coast on the longest, safest, and most efficient road network ever devised by man. Smooth roads, however, can put you to sleep. In fact, American highways are generally so smooth that highway departments crease the pavement along the shoulder to “rumble” when you cross them: ergo, the “rumble strip.” These bumps or creases are designed to jar you awake, lest you drive off the road into a more permanent slumber. Potholes also have a tendency to keep you awake and have the added benefit of alerting you to problems with your shock absorbers.
Road Building the Old-Fashioned Way
In the early part of our nation’s history, roads were generally a combination of clay and rock. After great effort was expended in clearing the roadbed of large rocks, trees, and stumps, the building crews would spread broken rock across the new bed and cover it with clay. Over several weeks or months, the clay eroded into the cracks and crevices, and the rocks would start to protrude, hence the name “rocky road.” Maintenance crews would come along and pound the rock down, breaking the rocks into smaller pieces, compacting and leveling the road in the process. An article published in the Philadelphia Magazine and Review in 1799 described how this was done:
| “[M]en should now be employed to break the stone with hammers, weighing about two pounds and a half…[the road] should be broken from time to time, as often as may be necessary—four times is, in general, sufficient.” |
Where Are You Headed?
If the road you are on seems smooth and straight, you need to listen out for the rumble strips. You are invariably falling asleep and headed for disaster, because that is emphatically not the walk of faith. As C.S. Lewis warned,
“…the safest road to hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”
Every day of a meaningful, manly life is fraught with obstacles, and the life of faith will take you on some very rough roads. Sometimes when we hit potholes and see rocks in the road, we start looking for a smoother road, one that is easier to traverse, even if we see that it is heading in the wrong direction. That is called leaving the paths of uprightness (Proverbs 2:13), and that is a dark road to travel. Such times are like sitting at an unfamiliar intersection late at night, wondering which way to turn. That is the time that men need to be willing to ask for directions.The Way There
The faithful man chooses the road he will take with the end in mind. For some, that road may only need a couple shovels full of asphalt (for now), but many need to cut a new road, requiring stump pullers and heavy equipment. As we continually assess the road ahead and evaluate our own road of a faithful walk, we can travel, or not travel, in response to what is mapped out in front of us.
Some men will be defeated and just pull to the shoulder to wait for the DOT sticker to be slapped on the windshield. Many men will travel along, blurry-eyed and fogbound, following the advice of Yogi Berra, “If you come to the fork of the road, take it.”
Other men will do anything in their power to avoid even the smallest bumps along the way and, in the process, never learn to face the challenges of life, challenges that enable a man to build a stronger roadbed of character and commitment and a straighter course to follow: a course that shineth more and more unto the perfect day (Proverbs 4:18).
The faithful man will stay the course, come what may. Whether hitting potholes or running up against the rocks, he presses on, deals with the obstacles in his way, and focuses on the eternal end of the road he has taken, a road that ends in life and not death.
So, DRIVE ON!
Harper sends
Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
Proverbs 4:2