Message summary: In life we will face many "forks in the Road". Let us make sure we make the right choice on the most consequential of all.

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"For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen" (Ezekiel 21:21). "Choose you this day whom ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15). “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13,14).

Yesterday we were on a special mission in Berks County, PA; we'll share more about that tomorrow. On the way we drove through Centerport, a tiny village north of Reading. In one of many "Pennsylvania oddities" this village has a literal super-sized fork in the road as seen in our photo today.  A "fork in the road" describes the point at which a road branches into two directions.

But we also use the phrase “a fork in the road” as a figure of speech referring to any important decision before us. At such a point we can go in one of two or more directions. Interestingly, the Bible actually uses this figure of speech in Ezekiel 21:21 (in several translations).

In life we will encounter many forks in the road as we walk the pilgrim pathway. Some are relatively inconsequential but others are important and one is vitally important.

In musing on this I consider a fork in the road while in high school. This may seem a little too much about me but I hope it prompts you to consider similar experiences in your life.

My first real job was that of a sacker at the Kroger grocery store at 35th and Noland Road in Independence MO. I placed the groceries into sacks for each customer after purchasing. (They call it a bagger in the Northeast).

I got the job shortly after turning 16 when I was a sophomore and worked there for almost 2 years. In the fall of my senior year I was "recruited" to work at a new service merchandise type store that was opening across Noland Road. I had a fork in the road decision to make.

Would I continue to sack groceries or join the new team? It seemed like an exciting opportunity and I felt like a big shot since I was to wear a tie and the store sold electronics which seemed so cool to me as a teen. It was similar to making a choice between working at Aldi's or the Apple Store.

I informed my Kroger manager and he accepted my decision but warned me not to burn any bridges behind me so I worked there two more weeks at Kroger after accepting the new job.

The store opened with a bang and was very busy leading up to Christmas, but after Christmas I was laid off and the store didn't last much longer,  likely due to the opening of the Independence Center mall.

In retrospect it would have been better if I had just finished my high school work career as a lowly sacker at Kroger, but in the big scheme of things my poor decision was not all that consequential.

By far the most consequential fork in the road we will come to as we travel here below is the fork that requires a decision on our part: whether we choose to walk the broad or narrow way (Matthew 7:13-14). It's a life changing choice between two lifestyles with different destinations. The broad way is easy and the most popular but it leads to destruction; the narrow way is difficult but it leads to life everlasting.

Joshua's ancient call to the people of Israel should always be before us. He's describing this most vital fork in the road, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve".

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13

Stephen and Brooksyne Weber