We can only live one way or another. 

With, or without God. Two ways to live, and two different paths to walk. So which one do we find ourselves travelling on at this point in our lives? 

In the midst of a world that so strongly urges us to walk down Satan’s road, we must be aware and alert to which path we find ourselves walking down. This is no light matter and it is something I urge us all to think and examine ourselves about. 

The Two Paths

When compared to each other, these two paths ahead of us couldn’t be more different. Not only do theyappear completely different, but theylead to completely different ends. As a traveller, two paths stand before us. Which one do we take?

There is a clear distinction between these two paths. It is either good or evil, godly or ungodly, right or wrong. There is no third path where we walk ‘neutrally’, or a space between the two where we can dawdle in while we decide which path to take. We are constantly progressing on one path or another, always walking. 

Let’s take a quick look at Matthew 7:13-14, which is part of Christ’s sermon on the mount. There it is written, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Path No. 1

Let’s lookat one of the paths that we could walk down. It’s wide, and stands open and welcoming. Lots of people walk through it with all their belongings in hand. People carry everything that they want to and the road appears smooth and easy. It is a broad way with many smaller paths, giving you many choices within this choice. It’s ideal and simple. Surely it’s the path to choose?

This ‘ideal’ path is the path of sin. The deceiving path that leads to destruction and death. 

This path allows us to carry our lusts and idols through our lives. It lets us feed our natural wicked and sinful desires, forthere are many sinful ways within this path. This illusion is exactly what Satan uses to entice us in choosing his path of wickedness. We will walk alone, accompanied only by our flimsy idols and sinful lusts, and in the end, the only certain outcome is eternal suffering and death. 

This is the way of the world, and the way that majority of people walk down. It is, after all, the ‘easier’ path, and our sinful nature pulls us towards it. 

Path No. 2

Turning to the other path. It’s narrow and the gate is small. The road looks long and full of obstacles. There’s no space to bring along all your lusts and your idols. This, however, is the road to life. It’s God’s pathway for us. The journey is not easy; we must deny ourselves, resist temptations, and things must be done. Throughout this path, we must always be awake and walk with care, becausewe will walk through many tribulations. 

Yet, it is by God’s grace that we can choose this path, as it isonly through Him can we walk this path. This is the true and righteous path, the path that leads to true and eternal life. We cannot walk this path out of our own strength -only through total dependence on God will it be possible. To walk this path means to leave all our idols and lusts at the gate, and walk step by step relying wholly on God. 

Walking in the True Path

To walk in the true path is to follow God and His plan. No longer is it what we want to do, where we want to go, but rather, where God is leading us and what His plan for us is. 

So, where do our hearts stand at this moment?

Looking at the parable of the farmer sowing the seeds (in Matthew 13:3-23), we should examine ourselves and see what soil our hearts are. 

Are we like the seeds grown on the footpath, that are plucked away by evil before they can even start growing? Or maybe we are like the seeds on the rocky soil, who first receive the Word with joy, but fall away as struggles come along? Perhaps we are the seeds grown in soil full of weeds, that are killed under all the idols we keep? 

We must pray that God reveals our hearts to usso that we can see the true wickedness of our hearts. We cannot be ignorant of this matter. To follow God is to give your whole life, all your hopes for the future and all your idols (whatever they may be). 

We give everything, and hold nothing back. Just as William Borden once said, to live with “No reserves, no retreats, no regrets” for God, and God only. Have we truly given our all to God? Or have we been grasping onto something else deep in our hearts where nobody (maybe not even ourselves) can see?

The Calling is Now

Time will only continue to move forwards, and as we continue walking on our journey we will only face more responsibilities and more struggles that are bigger and more serious than those we face before. What five-year-old us saw as a big problem, would be completely different to what our current selves see as a big problem. As we grow, the road will not get any easier and we will find ourselves more and more in situations where we have little to no control over. 

But which way are we walking?

As time progresses, there is no such thing as standing in a ‘grey area’. If we are not currently walking with God, we are walking with Satan. Wickedness will progress – it is not some steady point we can mingle in. We’re surrounded by sin, and we witness it ourselves through the sufferings that our friends go through, along with all the wickedness in surrounding world events. The same sin that causes these things is the same sin dwelling in us. 

This calling to choose one or the other is not a choice for tomorrow. It is now. 

Our time is always ticking away. It is urgent that we turn from the wrong path now. The greatest danger is if we leave it all to ‘tomorrow’. Thinking that “I’ll fix it starting tomorrow” or “It’s fine until later”, will drag us down further into our sin. It cannot be messed around with. It is a war and it is critical. Left alone, sin will resultin such a wicked state we cannot even imagine it. 

It will bring us to a point where there is no return. 

Turn back while you can, while you can still walk this earth, while God gives you the grace to live and breathe. For there will come a day when there is no more grace, and we can no longer choose. 

Do not walk down Satan’s path. When God disciplines us, we must listen. Pray for a quiet and gentle spirit—a teachable heart. Take the warning in Hebrews 10:26-27, “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,

but only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”

Repent and turn back while you can. Do not keep cruising down the pathway leading to death. Let us examine ourselves truly, and pray that God may reveal to us the true state of our hearts that we may not deceive ourselves and lull ourselves into a dangerous spiritual slumber. 

We must wake up and be alert. We need to choose; which path will we take and who will we follow?

Let us plead for His mercy, that He may open our eyes and let us see just how hopeless we are without Him. So that we may turn from our foolish ways, and live for Him a devoted life. 

Samantha Wy (17) is a writer for RE Generation-Z. Through this ministry, she strives to spread the truth to many other teens. Besides playing musical instruments, she also loves to bake and make random things.

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