There are only two ways: The right way and the wrong way.

There is no third way.

Something cannot be a little bit right or a little bit wrong: it is simply either right or wrong.

If there is any measure of wrong in a thing, then it is wrong.

If there is no measure of wrong in a thing, then it is right.

A REMINDER FROM JESUS

I remind us of this fact about right and wrong because Jesus was constantly reminding us of it, so it must be important. He said that the way to Heaven was narrow and few would find it, and that the way to Hell was wide and most were on it.

He did not give a third option.

Jesus also reminded us that God’s way of thinking was higher than man’s way of thinking, and he yelled at his followers (and at the Jewish leaders) for thinking as man thinks, not as God thinks.

He did not give them a third option.

WORLD VS GOD

Jesus was always reminding his followers (and, by extension, us) that it all boils down to two opposing choices – the wrong way and the right way. In other words, the world’s way, which is wrong and leads to Hell, or God’s way, which is right and leads to Heaven.

Again, no third option.

Each of us needs to remind ourselves of this every morning when we wake up and every night before we go to sleep and periodically throughout the day. Are we on the narrow way or the wide way, and are we thinking as God thinks or as man thinks?

Because at any point in time, our time here will be up, and when it is, we don’t get judged on the aggregate of our words and deeds or on that selfless thing we did 10 years ago, but on the state of our soul when we draw our last breath.

That is a very sobering thought. It was meant to be sobering. It is not a man-thought but a God-thought.

WHY WE’RE HERE

We are not here to enjoy ourselves or amass wealth or “change the world” or advance human knowledge or leave a legacy for our kids – all of those pursuits will put us on the wide way to Hell.

We are here to patiently learn our lessons and model the right way to others in whatever capacity God gives us. “Patiently learning our lessons” doesn’t sound very sexy to someone on the wide way who thinks as man thinks, but to someone on the narrow way who thinks as God thinks, it sounds like a gift from Heaven, which is exactly what it is.

Our life here now is a gift from God. We must not forget that, which is easy to do when the tests get us, well, testy. God has given everyone a second chance at Heaven: That’s what life here and now is: a second chance. God has also given us a list of do’s and don’t’s (Ten Commandments), an instruction book (New Testament) and a strong leader (Jesus) to guide us through the day-to-day problems we’ll encounter, because there will be problems. Lots of them. And they’ll get worse the closer we get to Heaven. That’s what life is all about – solving everyday problems using God-think, not man-think, and hanging on to the end, no matter how tough it gets.

BUS-STOP SAINT

On my way to the grocery store yesterday evening, I met a woman at the bus stop. I think she was ‘between homes’, much like myself (and much like Jesus used to be). We started chatting, and I mentioned that I didn’t have the right change for the bus. She immediately reached into her bag and took out a bus ticket and handed it to me. I told her that I didn’t have the right change to pay for it, but she shook her head and said “take it”, so I took it. Then she started rummaging through her bag and came up with a can of soda. She handed it to me and said “take it”. I told her I wasn’t thirsty, so she put the soda back into her bag, rummaged some more, and came up with a package of gum. She handed it to me and said “take it”. I told her I had gum already, but thank you anyway.

This woman was thinking as God thinks. She had no thought for her own needs but only what she saw as my needs, and willingly shared what she had.

I was humbled by her generosity. She didn’t do anything with pride or fanfare; she just simply offered.

And I was a stranger to her.

When the bus came, she remained at the stop. I got on the bus and used the ticket she’d given me. It was like a precious thing to me. I couldn’t stop thinking of her: No fanfare; no photo-ops; no naming of buildings; no bestowal of platinum status for donations above $10,000: just a simple gesture between strangers.

“Take it.”

A bus-stop saint quietly demonstrating God’s way.

That’s what we’re here for.