A Parable of Life
The Bible records 32 parables that Jesus spoke in His earthly ministry. A parable is a familiar earthly object or event in the disciples lives from which He would illustrate an eternal truth. Keep in mind, you do not build doctrine from a parable; they illustrate principles of living. For instance, they were familiar with sheep, farming, and fishing, so He used those time-tested things to drive home eternal truth. I want to look at something you are familiar with (an interstate road trip) and draw some spiritual truths.
The Highway Parable
We have often entered an interstate highway and later took an exit to our final destination. In our parable, those two activities would represent birth (entering life) and death (exiting life). As you travel between entering and exiting the road, you are often faced with hazardous conditions. A sign, construction cones, flashing lights, or a flagman grab our attention so we use extreme caution, reduce our speed, merge to one lane, or be careful of the rough road ahead. We fair best if we heed the signs and flagman.
Your trip through life will meet with some hazardous conditions… maybe your health, job loss, your finances, or even some rough times in your family. Approach those times with caution; give heed to the signs and obey the flagman.
As you travel, you are probably aware of the mile markers. They tell you three things: How far you have come; where you are at the present; and how far you have to go. Our trip is lined with markers; not miles traveled, but years spent in travel. In America, the average length of our journey is around 80 years, plus or minus. How far do have to go? How far have you come? Where are you at now on your journey?
The Exit
Not only will your trip have some rough roads and markers on the way, sooner or later you can exit. The question is: Will this exit take me where I am hoping for … a gas station, a fast food restaurant, or maybe a convenient store, etc? How long before you exit? What do you hope to find when you exit from this life? I wish I could tell you that every exit takes you to heaven, where the streets are gold, the mansions are large, your neighbors are perfect, and the weather is always balmy. That is where many of us are going because of Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection!
The truth is that there are those who exit this life and go to “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:44) … a place of torment, thirst, and darkness. You see, their exit led to the pit of fire.
You know those signs that have arrows to show which direction to go when you get off the exit; for instance, McDonald’s to the left, Wendy’s to the right, or a Shell station to the right also? The Bible is like those signs, telling you which way to go to find what you are looking for.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).
May I close by wishing you a safe journey through life and that you find what you are looking for at your exit.