The roads in our neighborhood have been a mess! The advent of December brought with it the advent of snow! A lot of snow.
Yesterday’s blog post considered how Jesus came to make a way for us … Jesus has “plowed the road” for us and made a way for us to get to Heaven. This is why we celebrate the Christmas Season of Advent! Jesus came! And Jesus made a way out of the mess we are in.
So … if there is now a “plowed way” to reach the destination, why are we all still here?? If Jesus made a way for us to get to Heaven, why can’t we just go there now? Why are we still here on this earth … stuck in this mess of sin??
Life is tough! Everywhere we turn there are problems! People are mean! If we try to do what’s right … we get “canceled.” Anything we try to build or accomplish … other people come along and tear it down and “dismantle” it.
God … why do you still have us here??
All of humanity is buried in sin (just like our neighborhood has been buried in snow!) … and even though Jesus arrived and “plowed a way” for us to get out of sin and reach the destination of Heaven … not everyone knows. People are “skidding” around, getting stuck in the mess of sin, and they don’t know there is a way which has been “plowed” so they can get out of the mess of sin.
This is God’s purpose for us here on the earth! God wants us to tell them!
God wants us to travel up and down all the roads buried in snow and slush and ice … and God wants us to tell people that Jesus has made a way!
But it’s difficult! It is really difficult to navigate roads buried in snow and slush and ice!
Yes … it’s difficult … but God has equipped us! When we accept Jesus’s gift of salvation and freedom from sin, God gives us a brand new “engine” in our vehicle! God has given us a “4-wheel drive!” And … God has given us “chains” for our tires!
When we face difficult sections of our “journey through life” … such as you can see in the background photo for today … we have power to make it through the snow and slush and ice! The Holy Spirit is the “4-wheel-drive” powering our life! The Holy Spirit is the “chains” on our tires, giving us traction!
At the end of the street hubby & I live on, the road drops off steeply … and ends in a cul-de-sac at the bottom of the hill. It is a treacherous hill … very steep and slippery and slick!
This past weekend I walked out to the end of our road to enjoy the view of the Cascade Mountains. Obviously, no traffic would be coming through since the hill in front of me dropped away steeply. So, I took advantage of sitting down right in the middle of the road to enjoy the view. Here you can see the view.
About 10 minutes later I was greatly surprised to hear a vehicle approaching from behind. It was the mail-truck. Hastily I got out of the middle of the road and climbed off into a snowbank off to the side, so the mail-truck could have plenty of room to pass.
I was in awe at how brave our mail carrier is! His mail-truck was equipped with chains. And with great caution, he proceeded halfway down the steep hill to deliver packages to a home. He had a difficult time turning around in the middle of the road … his tires spun a bit, even with the chains. But he succeeded in his mission. He accomplished what he had been tasked to do. And he gave a wave to me as he drove off on his way.
I was in awe!
This is what God has called us to do! This is why God has not taken us on to Heaven. There are people all around us who need to hear the good news of Jesus … Jesus offers the greatest gift of all … the gift of salvation from sin!
God has called us to bring this good news to people … just like our brave mail carrier brought packages to the people stuck far back in our snowed-in neighborhood, down a steep slippery hill.
This requires bravery! This requires us to be willing to venture down steep slick places to deliver the Good News to people there! This requires us to risk our tires spinning as we navigate tricky places. This requires us to face icy conditions!
It’s hard! It’s difficult! But this is what we’ve been called to! This is why we are here on this earth!
Yes … the “roads” are a mess! And it’s not much fun. But we are here for this purpose!
Go, in the strength and power of the Lord!
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8
