Look Both Ways

It was good advice and still is. The truth is, where I lived as a boy it was not a big problem. The road I lived near was gravel and wagons don’t travel fast enough to smash you. There were a few cars chugging down the road leaving a cloud of dust, but I don’t remember anyone ever getting hit. They finally put in a paved road and cars got faster, and looking both ways became important advice.

Pausing to look both ways is not just about getting across the road, but it is also about getting the most out of life. I’ve looked back a bit lately and found new strength to face the future. There are lessons to be learned from the difficult moments of life. I have come through some difficult times, times when I wasn’t sure if I would come out on the other side. Looking back I am encouraged because God has always been faithful. His record is spotless. He has been more than enough. Now I know one can’t live life always looking back--that would be backing into your future, but our history will serve us well if we stay in touch with it. It is not all something to be forgotten. Acknowledging where we have been will help us get where we want to go.

“Look both ways” is advice for a moment of decision. It is about getting to the other side safely. The other side could mean a lot of things. The other side of any problem is best solved by looking both ways. Getting smashed on life’s highway is not the way to go. The Scripture is filled with examples of people who failed to look both ways. David didn’t look both ways before he took another man’s wife. Judas didn’t look both ways before he betrayed our Lord. Sampson didn’t look both ways before he took Delilah. Looking both ways we can learn the lessons of history and live in the hope of the future. jfs

Scripture: (Proverbs 4:14-15) Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on. (NKJV)