I didn’t expect to go where I went with today’s devo, but was extremely challenged in the end. It’s amazing how little images throughout life give us insight into spiritual circumstances. My prayer is that you might be challenged as I was.
Aloha,
Allen
Thoughts
When I was younger I loved visiting the livestock market. From the stadium-style seating to the fast-tongued auctioneer to the walkways that were suspended over all of the cattle pens, it was a sensory overload (especially to the nasal passages!). The hustle and bustle of ‘sale’ day was a welcomed break from the day to day activities on the farm.
Of the many intriguing aspects of the sale barn, I was always amazed at the men who were responsible for sorting the cattle after they had been sold. At times, dozens of animals were flooding the alleys and were being sorted in as many directions within seconds. A pivotal gate between two lanes, merely inches apart, determined the fate of an animals life. One led to a peaceful life in the pastures of an elderly retired couple. The other in between two sesame seed buns, topped with wilted lettuce, partially ripe tomatoes, and a bitter cucumber. Oh, the fate of the gate!
Life is filled with gates. Gates that determine little outside of the few individual moments sporadically placed throughout our lives. They’re turning points. Brief moments that sending us careening down one path or another. And, on most occasions, their meaning escapes us in the moment of our encounter.
The apostle Paul, Saul at the time, faced one of those destiny changing gates on his way to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9). Seeking to extinguish the flames of the Gospel, he was at once consumed by it and became it’s greatest propellent. Two paths merged on one road and one Gate determined the destiny. In John 10:9 Jesus declares that He is that ‘gate’.
All along life’s journey there are turning points marked by the Gate. Though the two paths seemingly overlap, they are two distinctive paths and how we choose to respond to Jesus determines which one we choose. If you’re at a turning point today, don’t be deceived into thinking they’re the same. Despite how close they seem at the moment, they lead to two totally different places. Choose wisely.
Application
What gates have you gone through in life that seemed insignificant at the moment but were monumental in hindsight?
It is possible that two opposing paths can seem to be the same? How have different choices ‘seemed’ to be the same at the moment of decision but have led to two totally different ends? (To be better picture this, imagine a maze)
What path are you choosing today?
Prayer
Father,
I have been challenged with the thought of how closely two opposing paths seem at the moment of decision. Like the stockyard gates, the paths are merely inches apart but lead to two totally different lives. Thank You for placing Jesus as our Gate. As Your Holy Spirit prompts me at life’s gates, may I remain faithful to choose You. I ask for discernment when the paths seem so close, but have such different endings. Lead me in Your ways.
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