How Ralph Ended Up in the Dirt
His name is… well, let’s just call him Ralph.
He lives out in the dirt east of Redmond. Plenty young and apparently healthy, Ralph can’t seem to get out of his own way. He sports numerous tattoos, several piercings along with barrels in his ears and always welcomes us when we roll up in the Share Van. I’ve known Ralph for over 18 months now and have provided for some of his needs, talked and prayed with him, encouraged him to get into housing, and the truth is that nothing seems to stick.
He told me a while back that he has a track record of making poor decisions, and given his situation, he’s right on with that assessment. His both subtle and obvious choices of which path to follow determine his trajectory as well as his destination. And right now, Ralph’s destination is a dark one.
Whether it’s my friend, Ralph, or any of us, our choices plot our path and will inevitably land us in a place of good or bad outcomes. All it takes is to look back over either shoulder at the forks in the road we traveled, both obvious and unseen at the time, and chart where they led.
Reading over the Sermon on the Mount several times recently, I’ve noticed things never seen before. Jesus, in laying out the framework of his kingdom, set a high bar for those who want to apprentice to him. One small section, just two verses long, stopped me in my tracks as I wondered what all might be included in Jesus’ intent.
Listen, again, to Mt. 7:13-14.
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 is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
I’ve always heard that this is about salvation and how careful we must be to do what is right in order to get “in.” (BTW, this has also led to overly strict rules that have abused good people to make sure they enter the narrow gate as defined by the group they’re a part of). The wide road represents easy choices and crowd-following while the narrow gate and path is a more restrictive life that leaves the crowd to travel another way and on to eternal life.
But what if Jesus’ main point isn’t about who “gets to heaven and who doesn’t” but about life in general as a faith-filled Jesus-kingdom citizen?
Two words in the verses hint at this: Destruction and Life. If the end of each of the roads are one or the other of these, that enhances the meaning and implication of the passage and truly ups the ante for day-to-day living.
Ralph is a working example, in the extreme, of the former, and it’s easy to shake our heads at him. Every day out in the dirt he has a choice to make whether to hang out and get high and collect more stuff at his camp or to take first steps, narrow-gate steps, toward change. Surrounded by junk, bad behavior, hopelessness, and dependent on any good that comes his way to survive, Ralph floats with his crowd down a wide path, not unlike a stick aimlessly bobbing along in a stream. Each day, every poor decision adds a bit more destruction in his life. And as each day passes, narrow-gate choices are all the more difficult to make.
If Ralph is an obvious example, think about how that looks in your life.
I might stand back with crossed arms and narrowed eyes judging Ralph and his choices, but how many times in a day do I choose a worth-less path to follow. The separation from me to him may not be as large as I imagine. While my life might be tidy and respectable, from me to Ralph is just a matter of degrees, and a measure of destruction comes my way as it does to him with every broad road pursuit…and I don’t think I’m alone.
One strategy of the enemy, a true thief of life, is to make the broad road seem either normal or the only best option if I am to get by in life. That way is filled with others just going along without thought of the destination. where it’s easiest to float along, us being that stick in the stream, but what we really want is Life!
Sounds a bit like John 10:10 when Jesus talks about shepherding his people.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that [you] may have life, and have it to the full!
The narrow way to life is not easy nor often even noticed in the heat of any moment. The times when I’ve chosen a narrow path I recall introspection before action, followed by the willingness to walk differently than others, looking first to Jesus for a model to imitate, then moving with intention.
Paul, writing to young believers in a cosmopolitan setting in Ephesus and who were enticed by their city’s wide road, recognized the power of choices we all make and the influence even the smallest moves might have. In what we have as Ch. 5 in his letter, Paul urges attentiveness to life so these believers, and all who read his words, can live well, honorably, usefully.
This has nothing to do with earning salvation, rather, like Jesus said, it’s all about living life to the full.
So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So, the narrow gate is for our benefit, not to rob us of fun. Breaking these sentences down a bit might look like this:
Pay attention to your life, looking for the forks in the road
Be the one who considers before acting
Intend on making the most of each day
Stay in step with God
Resist giving over control to anything that leads to negative outcomes, rather tap into God’s resources
Count your blessings daily and rejoice that Jesus gave you life
Seems to me, that’s a snapshot of narrow-path living, and it sure looks like a worthwhile way to live, really live!
As for Ralph, I will continue to love on him for as long as we cross paths. I try not to worry about where the line is between compassion and enabling when he could use a little food and some dry socks and clean chonies. And I’m reminded every time we do see each other that he is made in God’s image, carries worth beyond measure, and has a new chance each day to choose another way to go. Just like you and me.
And it goes beyond the Ralphs we come across. Narrow-path living honors people, looks to do justice with kindness, welcomes the stranger and protects the vulnerable while standing up to the bully, and showcases Jesus as the way to life through the choices we make. It promotes Kingdom over culture.
Lord, please keep my heart soft to those who appear to be sprinting toward destruction, watching my own choices along the way. Lead us, as you always have, to life to the full.
How about some music?
Bad jokes for the week…
A guy bought a new fridge. He put the old fridge in his front yard with a sign saying: "Free to good home. Runs great. You want it—you take it."
For three days the fridge sat there. So he changed the sign to read: "Fridge for sale $50."
The next day someone stole it.
*****************
A woman answered the phone; it was a salesman calling from a mortgage company.
He: "Do you have a second mortgage on your home?"
She: "No."
He: "Would you like to consolidate all your debts?"
She: "I really don't have any debts."
He: "How about freeing up cash for home improvements?"
She: "I don't need any. I just recently had some done and paid cash."
...brief silence...
He: "Are you looking for a husband?"