The Road Less Travelled-A Reminder Of God’s Eternal Promise
As Christians we are on a road less travelled, but it is the only one that leads to eternity. Brad reminds us that our time here on earth is short, but eternal life awaits us in heaven.
Route 66
Americana, nostalgia, the American Dream. These are all things embodied in a journey down the “Mainstreet of America,” or what is more iconic and famously known as “Route 66”. This was Americas frequent and favorite travel route. Spanning 8 states from Illinois in the Midwest, to California on the Pacific Coast, it connected the country like no other route, for over 50 years. Hundreds of millions of families, tourists, truckers, experienced its intrigue and charm each year.
Before Route 66, most small towns had no prior access to a major highway. Officially commissioned in 1929, it was a major economic driver through the Depression years. As the country, and the road grew, business & tourism flourished. The very first McDonald’s in San Bernardino California, sprung up on Route 66. It facilitated the birth of the modern service station. Motels, diners, souvenir shops and anything “kitsch”, began dotting this main thoroughfare running through the heart of America.
Route 66 was decommissioned from highway status in 1984, as much of it’s blacktop had been bi-passed or merged into the US Interstate system. Businesses, residents, & town councils rallied to keep sections open; resulting in hundreds of miles in each of the 8 states being protected and re-named “Historic Route 66”.
A Memorable Journey
Recently my wife and I spent some time travelling through several states where many miles of the “great” road and remnants of its glory days are well preserved. We ate in small 50’s styled diners, gassed up at stations with old style pumps, where souvenirs and memorabilia hung from every available wall space.
We drove long quiet stretches; the only reminder of the legendary road…the occasional weathered 66 crest, stamped onto the highway surface years before.
As you can well imagine, Route 66 is a mosaic of beautiful landscapes…. from corn fields and cotton fields, canyon brooks and painted deserts, to mountaintop vistas and fertile valleys. The beauty is breathtaking, and the roadside amenities that are now in place, still sparkle and hum with a spirit of the original feel; managing to capture the essence of what it would have been like to have travelled the road in it’s heyday.
But as we travelled, with each sunset capping a day full of memories, an overall feeling of nostalgia settled in. A remembrance of simpler times, of America coming of age, adventurous tales of families, of lives, so many travelers who would now be well on in years, or no longer in this world.
Clearly this is a road less travelled. A road and an era that have seen their best days. The best efforts of town committees, businesses and historical societies cannot re-create or resurrect; that which has come and gone.
A Reminder Of God’s Eternal Promise
For me, it served as a powerful reminder of how fleeting are, the days, months and years of our lives. How the things that are so integrally a part of our day to day, are like us…fading and rusting, passing and ending. No amount of wistful affection for things, or times made of this world, will ever stay the powers of change.
We know we are in this world, but not “of it.” Solomon reminds us
“Say not thou, what is the cause that the former days were better than these? For thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.”
So, when sweet memories of days gone by bring a sense of melancholy, or a tear; we can bring to remembrance the solid, eternal promise from God. And we like Paul can say,
“For I am convinced that neither life nor death, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
There truly is only one thing and one person who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
The Road Less Travelled
It should bring about a spirit of deep gratitude and rejoicing, that we as Christians are on the road that leads home. The comparison has often been made, as our Bible states, that the “broad road” of life represents the world and its pleasure for a season. “
But narrow is the way and few that find it, that leads to eternal life”.
The shuttered old gas stations and the rusted old vehicles that make for a retro “Kodak moment”, breathe tangible witness to God’s word reminding us not to lay up treasures in things where
“moth and rust doth corrupt”.
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip, and we hope to return in the future. But as in all things in this life, put before us by God, we can draw from it blessing, and use it to contrast things that are passing… with things that are life-giving and eternal.
As Christians, lets soldier on…on this road less travelled. For the one who has placed us on it, has gone on to
“prepare a place for us, that where he is, there we may be also.”
“Lord, I would place my hand in Thine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since ’tis my God that leadeth me.”
Do you have questions about eternity? Share your comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Brad Hewey
Brad offers up practical, scriptural advice from a perspective borne out of everyday life encounters. As we live and move and have our being…it’s the individual life lessons that most often present the greatest challenges, but can yield the richest blessings. We’ve all, as Christians had those faith-affirming moments, where we’ve had an overwhelming sense of God’s spirit, or his very presence “at a particular but, maybe random time”.
Brad was born and still resides in a small community in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, where he and his wife Karen raised their 3 children. Brad & Karen fellowship at the Greenland Bible Chapel, where Brad serves as an elder.
Brad loves meeting and engaging with people. His background in sales has provided opportunities to travel throughout the US and Canada, networking with people from all walks of life. Brad is a singer/songwriter and has recorded 3 Christian albums. Songs from his “Brighter Day” release, have aired on Christian Radio stations across Canada and two of Brad’s albums are on HopeStreamRadio’s playlist.
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