Come Walk With Me

In past writings, I have used the expression “crossroads” to describe the experience I had when I made the decision to follow Jesus Christ.  I have said that I was standing at a crossroads, but the more I reflect on that life-changing moment, the more I realize that it was not so much a crossroads as it was a fork in the road—a place where I encountered the Lord and had to choose which path I would take.

This morning, at 1:30 A.M., I was awakened from a deep sleep.  My mind immediately became flooded with memories of that all-important night—the night when God forgave my sins and I became a born-again Christian.

With my eyes closed, I could see it clearly in my mind’s eye: a fork in the road.

At the entrance to each road stood a sign.

The road on the left was wide and inviting, but its sign was anything but welcoming.  It was made from a rough-hewn slab of wood, scorched and discolored as though it had been exposed to the intense heat of a raging fire.  The lettering was difficult to make out, but I could see what it said:

ROAD TO DESTRUCTION.

The road on the right was straight and narrow.  Its sign was entirely different.  It appeared to be a tablet of stone, clear and unblemished, with words etched into it as though by the very finger of God:

ROAD TO ETERNAL LIFE.

As I lay there, captivated by what my mind’s eye was showing me, I noticed someone standing just beyond the sign on the narrow road.  He was waving His hands above His head, trying desperately to get my attention.

The closer I looked, the more clearly I could see the jagged scars in His hands.

He was quietly calling to me, but the noise and calamity coming from the road on the left seemed determined to drown out His voice.  There was confusion, corruption, and every kind of worldly distraction competing for my attention.

Then, in the background, I heard something else—a growl, a roar, like that of a lion moving back and forth, searching for unsuspecting prey.

I could almost hear the words of Scripture: “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

It seemed as though that roaring lion was mocking the One who stood on the narrow road, calling me to follow Him.

Yet, despite all the noise, despite the confusion and worldly corruption that sought to keep me from hearing His voice, I could still make out what He was saying:

“Come walk with Me.”

In that moment, I realized the significance of the decision before me.  I was about to make a choice what would affect not only the rest of my life, but where I would spend eternity.

This vision of the fork in the road brought to mind the words of Scripture found in Galatians 6:7-8:

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

I had a choice to make.  Life or death.  The narrow road or the wide road.  One path led toward destruction.  The other led toward eternal life.

I am eternally grateful that I chose the road on the right.  For that is the road where Jesus walks with me—not only at the fork in the road, but every day of my journey.

And now, with each step, He leads me farther from the world and closer to home.  Home to heaven.

Written by,

Papa Boyd