Thoughtful Topics
At the Crossroads
We don't always understand why it happens and somehow we never seem quite ready to face it. Suddenly, we find ourselves at a crossroads in our lives. A crisis brought on by feelings of restlessness, disappointment, depression or confusion. Feelings indicating that the decisions we have made, the relationships we have and/or the things we do are no longer making sense, working or satisfying us. Where do we go from here?
In Chinese, the word "crisis" is created by the use of two pictures. The first picture meaning danger; the second opportunity. Danger and Opportunity. The word captures it exactly. The danger in crises is easy to see; scary feelings, major life-changing decisions, and risk. But right alongside the danger, not always so easy to see, lies an opportunity to grow or to discover God's purpose for our lives.
In Matthew, we meet a man at the crossroad. This "Would be Disciple" responds to the call of Jesus by asking to bury his father. Jesus replies with the mysterious and seemingly hard-hearted statement, "let the dead bury the dead." This man, you see, was not asking for funeral leave but rather to return to parents who were still alive caring for them until that day, perhaps years in the future, when his parents do die. Released at that time from his sacred duty, the man would then follow Jesus anywhere. The call is repeated. The man is torn between his sacred duty and this call of Jesus. He chooses the safe road to home to fulfill his duty.
Abraham faces a crossroad when God asks him to leave the security of his home for the untamed wilderness of Palestine. At a similar point in his life, the poet Robert Frost wrote that he chose the "less traveled road" meaning a road with and unknown destination. In retrospect, he found that this decision of the "less traveled road" made "all the difference" in his life. Abraham also chose the less traveled road leaving the security of wealth and family for the insecurity of a journey that led who knows where.
While these men faced agonizing choices, they also had the special opportunity to journey with God. One responded to the danger and took know road home; the other to the opportunity and began the Judeo-Christian faith. His choice made all the difference for the people of God.
When our next crossroad crisis comes, I hope we will see it for what it is; God's call to alter the road we're traveling. Danger and Opportunity. Face the danger. Seize the opportunity. Discover the purpose for which we were created. Seize the opportunity. It will make all the difference.