Two Roads

I love it every time I see a brand new paved road, with the white stripes on each side and the two yellow stripes down the center. The paint is perfect, with no chips. The asphalt is black as a crayon, not faded and cracked by the sun. There are no grease spots. No vandalism. No potholes. A brand new, beautiful paved road - blemish free!

On the other side of the spectrum, I can appreciate "well traveled" roads. All the potholes represent large trucks who have used that path. The stones and rocks on the road are small pieces of the road which have broken off through years of hard work. Every grease spot is a reminder of a vehicle that has taken that route. The sun's rays have tried to destroy the road, fading and drying out the asphalt until it cracks. Yet, the road survives and continues to serve its purpose: providing a path for vehicles.

People are like the two roads. Some are blemish free (mostly just newborns). Some have the scars and visible damage of being well traveled. Most of us are in between those two extremes.

Yet picture each of those roads the morning after a blanket of snow has fallen. The "road" is no longer visible. All that can be seen is a clean sheet of pristine, white snow. The two roads look the same. The crayon black asphalt and the faded, cracked asphalt are hidden by the pristine white blanket of snow. Potholes and pebbles aren't visible.

Such is the effect of God's grace on us. Our pasts, whether blemish free or full of damage, is no longer visible or relevant. We are all brand new creatures. We are all the same.

Unlike a blanket of snow which can melt in a few hours, God's blanket of grace will never melt away. All of our mistakes and sins are covered and gone!

This post was inspired by the book What Can be Found in LOST by John Ankerburg and Dillon Burroughs.