My wife Carol and I recently took a trip to Boone, high in the mountains of western North Carolina, where we stayed five days. The road to the Kingdom may not be an interstate highway, but neither is it concealed or secret. Granted, Matthew 7:14 warns us that the way leading to eternal life is narrow and difficult and few find it, but it does not take much travel to keep a road clear. Christ blazed the trail (it is one of His titles, see Hebrews 2:10) and others have followed in His steps ( I Peter 2:21 I John 2:6), beating the path down as they went. In other words, others have traveled the way of God before us and made it passable. They are 'well-trodden,' wide enough for caravans and wagons. What we see is that these paths God speaks of are not hidden, lost or vague. In the previously mentioned Psalm 16:11, path is translated from a Hebrew word for 'a well-trodden road, a caravan path, a customary road.' In Psalm 23:3, the original word means 'a track, a path for wagons, a broad path.' Similarly, way in II Samuel 22:33 describes 'a trodden road.' In the New Testament, the Greek word most writers use is hudos, meaning 'a highway, a natural path.' The same person says in II Samuel 22:33, 'God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect.' What is this 'path' and 'way' he mentions? In the oft-quoted Psalm 23, David writes of God, 'He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake' (verse 3). We need to take a closer look at the 'path of life' and the 'way of righteousness' so we can have a better picture of the Road to the Kingdom. Remember those 'Road' pictures from many years back? Bing Crosby and Bob Hope were on the Road to Rio, the Road to Zanzibar and so on. Since God does not lie, why do we feel lost so often, not knowing which road to take? God will lead us along the path of life, a path leading ultimately to the Kingdom of God. Yet David writes in Psalm 16:11, 'You will show me the path of life.' Many other verses say similar things. Many times I have told people that I would like to wake up in the morning, stroll outside for the newspaper and open it up to see-on the front page-a big headline: Mike Ford, Here Is Your Answer! But I have been bringing in the paper for longer than I care to remember, and not once has an answer to a dilemma been in it! God does not work that way. You pray for direction, 'Which way do I go, Father?' yet a clear answer seems to elude you. Several options are open before you or maybe none at all-at least that you can see. Have you ever had this happen to you? You are faced with a problem and are in a quandary, wondering which way to go.

Road to kingdom