“They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong. But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.”
2 Peter 2:15-16 NLT
Peter continues his tirade against the false prophets and teachers that were around in his day. They have taken a wrong turning, and “wandered off the right road”, he wrote. There is a right and wrong road for us pilgrims, as we know. Life is a journey through many different terrains, some easy going, but others particularly tough, and we often cry out in anguish, “It’s too hard, Lord”. Sometimes we stop to rest for a while, and are tempted to stay there. We find a spiritual place of great blessings and echo Peter’s sentiments in Matthew 17:4a, “Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! … ” But as we read in Matthew 17:9a, “As they went back down the mountain, Jesus … “. He loves us too much to leave us, even in a place of blessing, and there comes a time when the mountain top has to be vacated and the journey continued.
But how do we know which road is the right road? There is often a choice of different paths that we can take. Do I take this job? Marry this man/woman? Buy this house? Join this church? All choices that will determine the direction of the road before us. Some choices we make will affect the rest of our lives, so we carefully and prayerfully consider the options. Only God sees the end from the beginning, so who else can we trust for the right counsel? At other times, we open God’s Word, the Bible, and use it to shine a light on what we are doing or thinking. Sometimes the illumination is uncomfortable and draws us back to our knees in repentant prayer. Perhaps this morning there is someone who is facing into a situation where they know they have to make some personal changes. Changes far beyond what they can achieve in their own strength, but changes required nevertheless.
Jesus taught about the difficulties of the broad and narrow roads. In Matthew 7:13-14, we read, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it“. He was right of course. It is far easier to go with the flow in life. Being a Christian inevitably involves being, sooner or later, counter-cultural. Making a choice in life that is different to everyone else draws a variety of responses, mostly negative, from those around us, even in our own family.
The “gateway to life” starts at the Cross of Calvary, where the God-man Jesus died in our place. Because of our sins, we deserved to die, but He took the punishment for us. So with a few tentative steps, we open the gate and pass through. And there in the distance there is a bright and appealing light illuminating the horizon. But before us is the “right road”. We have a difficult journey ahead of us, in fact it is so difficult that many turn back and re-join the broad path, the “highway to hell”, as Peter describes it. But for all those who persevere in the journey along the narrow road, there is help. Jesus knows how difficult it is because He has trodden it too, and there are times when He carries us along. At other times we find a fellow pilgrim, going the same way, and we travel together. God never leaves us and He is always there with us. Worldly success may not come our way, but we are building up treasures in Heaven. Step by step, day by day.
In Peter’s day, there were false prophets and teachers who tried to turn the narrow path into a broad way, teaching the believers things that did not conform to God’s requirements and ways. Even today, their descendants are still with us, perhaps repeating what the devil said to Eve, “Surely God did not say …”. False teachings that tempt us, draw us, confuse us and, condemn us.
The Apostle Paul was journeying to Jerusalem and dropped off en-route to speak to some elders and church leaders. This is what he said, “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:27-30). We pilgrims need to hear this “whole counsel of God”. Nothing else will do. And we need to look out for the “savage wolves” and those “speaking perverse things“.
In John 6 we read about the disciples who were facing into some hard teaching, and we read that many deserted Jesus. But Peter was made of sterner stuff, and in response to Jesus asking if the Twelve wanted to leave as well, “Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life”” (John 6:68). Those words will sustain us on our journeys. There is no alternative to a relationship with our wonderful Heavenly Father who loves and cares for us. Only He has the map to keep us on the “straight and narrow way”. And one day He will welcome us home with a “Well done …”. Worth waiting for?
Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your Word and the love and grace that sustains us. Please continue to lead and guide us on our journeys. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 