Roman Roads

A couple of thousand years ago, the Roman Empire controlled much of Europe, including Britain, the Middle East and part of North Africa. In order to facilitate the control of this far-flung empire, the Romans built a network of roads that connected the conquored lands. They were a powerful force throughout the land under their control and believed themselves to be unconquorable. That attitude is easily summed up in the words of Julius Caesar in his book on the Gallic wars, "Veni, vidi, vici". As any Latin student can tell you, this translates to, "I came, I saw, I conquored." If you don't know, Gaul was the name of country which is France today.

That wonderful engineering feat, the Roman road network, was built by hand. They did not have any of the equipment we have today. Yet, despite that, or maybe because of it, many of those ancient roads still exist today. In its heyday, the saying was that all roads lead to Rome, not just in terms of geography, but as an expression of the awesome power the Romans wielded.

Today, in this country, we have the interstate highway system, properly known as the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System, for the president who had the vision and drive to have the legislation passed and funded. They do not all lead to one place like the old Roman roads, but they do allow us to drive from coast to coast and border to border with a minimum of delay...other than a few speed limit signs.

When it comes to our approach to God, we also have a path. Some people say we have to keep to the "straight and narrow" to get where we want to go, namely Heaven and an eternity with God. No highway, no matter how well constructed and maintained is truly straight and without its delays. Just as we can drive from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Florida on Interstate 10, so too can we get to God. That highway, I-10, has its turns and curves and delays. There are times when we have to stop for fuel, both for the body and for the car. We can't just drive the 3,000 miles non-stop on our own; we need help to get there.

So it is with our journey to God. We don’t just get born and follow a marked path, all smooth and straight, to get there. That path is just like any highway you have ever driven. There are curves and hills and valleys, detours and rough spots. There are distractors, just like the billboards along the highway, that tempt you to take off in a different direction. While the detours along the highway usually lead to someplace that has a touristic interest, which often will cost some money, the detours along the road to God may have more serious consequences.

Before the advent of the GPS, we had to study road maps and written directions in order to get from one place to another place we had never been before. For our journey to God, we do have written directions, the Bible. The directions are there, just waiting for you to read and study them. Just like the old Roman roads are still there today, still leading back to Rome, so is the Bible still leading us to God. Pick it up or download it onto your smartphone or tablet. Follow what it says and you will get where you, and God, want you to go. Ignore what it says and you will not like the destination of that detour you will be tempted to take. What is your choice of destination?