Driving along a country road this morning, I saw a bird. She sat in the middle of the road, not moving as my car approached. I drove around her and noticed in my rear view mirror that she was still sitting there. Should I keep going? Should I stop, put my car in reverse, and back up? Should I get out of my car and rescue the poor thing?
It’s a bird. Just a bird. But I couldn’t just let it sit there and get hit by the next car that came along not seeing her or not caring if she got squashed. I love birds!
So I did what any bird-lover would do. I stopped, put my car in reverse, backed up, got out, took some photographs as she posed nicely for me, and then I scooped her up gently.
She was a beautiful young robin, apparently uninjured, just sitting on the pavement, oblivious to her precarious situation. As I held her in my hands, she started chirping and I could feel her little heart start to race. I imagined her little bird brain thinking . . .
Who is this beast? Is it going to harm me or kill me? I’m helpless to get away!
I doubt she thought I was there to help her. But I know about roads. I know you can’t just sit in the middle of a road and expect not to get run over eventually. Does she? Does she know about trying to be a middle-of-the-road creature? Obviously not! So, I moved her to safety.
How often are we like little robins, trying to sit in the middle of the road, not choosing one side or the other? Do we think being middle-of-the-road in our spiritual lives is better? Don’t take a strong stand either for or against Christ? Accept everything and hope He’ll be OK with that?
Sounds nice, but Jesus never said that middle-of-the-road was fine with Him. He was consistent in claiming that He was God the Son—the Way, the Truth, and the Life—and that no one could come to God the Father except through Him. His words. Not mine.
Jesus was not a middle-of-the road kind of guy. He said He was God. He said He came to seek and to save the lost. He told people to follow Him and leave all else behind. He said that by His shed blood we would be saved and that His atoning sacrifice was the only way we could be saved. His words. Not mine.
Jesus rejected every notion that He was just a prophet or a good teacher. He said He was God, the Messiah. His words. Not mine.
And for those who chose to follow Him? For those who choose to follow Him today? For those who call themselves Christians? Jesus still has words. He said that He would rather we be hot or cold, not lukewarm, and that the lukewarm will be spit from His mouth. His words. Not mine.
Middle-of-the-roaders will get run over one day. Trying to straddle the middle gets one nowhere but dead. At some point, we have to decide which way we’re going and move one direction or the other. If we try to sit in the middle of the road, we might just get squashed.
Could Christ’s words, written here, be the vehicle that stops, backs up, gets out, and hand-delivers someone to a definitive, safe side of the road?
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:6