This is the fourth article in a series called Two Roads. Previous articles are always available at http://www.webbweekly.com.

The Road to Death and the Road to Life are very different roads, but they do have some things in common. This article will focus on the things you’ll find on both roads.

Death

Both roads have Death on the map. One road travels to it; the other travels through it.

On the road to Death, Death is the obvious destination – the literal dead-end. It is a perplexing journey for all of us. We faithfully travel the road to Death every day, yet we never want to reach our destination.

There’s a lot of unknowns about Death. First, we don’t know when we will arrive. The roadside markers tell us how much time has passed, not how much time we have left.

Will I arrive at Death today? Tomorrow? In fifty years? How am I supposed to live when Death could always be around the next corner?

Second, we don’t know how we will arrive. Will it be sudden in an accident? Will it come after years of battling cancer or some other miserable disease? Will I linger in a nursing home or a comatose state? Could I get so tired and defeated that I take my own life?

It makes sense that we fear death. See Hebrews 2:15. We are beings, and the worst thing for a being is to no longer be. That’s the trouble with Death: it is the end of something that shouldn’t have an end. Death makes no sense at all.

Death isn’t supposed to be our destination. In the beginning, it wasn’t even on the map. We were made by an eternal God for an eternal existence – to live and never die. To Be. Always. That’s what makes sense to us. Yet here we are, traveling fast on the road that leads to Death. Go figure.

While there is death on the road to Life, it’s not the destination. Travelers on the road to Life know that death is a shadowy valley they will pass through along the way.

That being said, they walk through that valley with courageous determination, not fear, knowing full well Life continues on the other side. King David said it this way,

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4

Gravity and Grace

Gravity and grace are the two unseen and unescapable forces at work on both roads.

Gravity affects every traveler. The downward force relentlessly pulls us toward the ground and the grave. No traveler escapes its grip. The pull of gravity is just too strong.

When Adam fell from grace, gravity took over. God said to him,

By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you will return. Genesis 3:18-19. When Adam fell, gravity became the dominant force in the human story.

Grace also affects every traveler. It is the upward force that pulls us toward heaven and eternal life. It was God’s grace at creation that raised Adam from the dust of the ground and formed him into a living being. It was grace that placed him in the Garden, gave him authority and purpose, blessed him with Eve, and provided them with all they would ever need to live and thrive forever. Grace pulled them upward. Because of grace, Adam and Eve continually gained elevation as they traveled the road of Life.

But as I’ve already mentioned, no traveler escapes either force. Adam and Eve discovered that even at the highest of heights, gravity was still pulling them toward the ground. They probably thought they were invincible. They likely assumed they would never fall from their lofty place. They took no steps to guard themselves from their only vulnerability. It was a fatal mistake that impacted all of us.

My friends, no one escapes gravity. There is no height from which it is impossible to fall. Just ask Moses, Abraham, Essau, David, Judas, and Peter (to name a few). Grace had given each of them a lofty position, and they all fell. Hard. Again, no one escapes the force of gravity. Ever. If it could happen to them, it could happen to you and me. If you don’t accept this truth and guard yourself, you will fall. Me too.

Why? Pride convinces us we can defy gravity. We start taking risks. We get too close to the edge — and then the unthinkable happens — we lose our footing and fall.

I have served in full-time Christian ministry for nearly forty years. I have walked with very good and highly elevated travelers who played too close to the edge and suffered a devastating fall. It is awful in every way. They are humiliated. Their families are destroyed. Their reputations are lost. Their future hopes and dreams evaporate into thin air. Some are so overcome with remorse that they take their own lives.

I am writing these articles to warn you about gravity. The ground is relentless, and it wants you back. It will never stop pulling on you. If you think you are beyond its reach, you are in trouble.

But I am also writing to let you know grace is pulling on you, too—always. It wants you on the road to Life. Grace led you to this article. It is giving you an opportunity to break free of gravity and exit the road to Death. The choice is yours—and you are guaranteed to make it today. See 2 Corinthians 6:2.

Yes, by grace, you can exit the road that leads to Death. We’ll talk about exit ramps next week.