The Road Not Taken - Matthew 19: 21-22

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
- Matthew 19:21-22


    In 1916, American poet, Robert Frost published his famous poem, “The Road Not Taken.” Hardly a Christian parable, the work still resounds with the concept of choices. For Frost’s fictitious wanderer it was a choice of one of two roads. When Christ spoke to Matthew, the tax collector, and an unnamed rich young ruler, He alluded to a choice of which road to take.
    In the story of the rich young ruler, we find an allegory that remains timeless. Symbolically, the rich young ruler had all he needed for a complete and comfortable worldly life right here on earth. What more could he want? Well, obviously he wanted eternity as well. And Christ was very willing to give the young man what he wanted, provided the young man could part with his earthly security in exchange for eternal wealth. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” - Matthew 6:19-20. To do what Jesus commanded (note: not asked, but commanded) the young man simply couldn’t (or wouldn’t) comply. How many people today simply refuse to yield to Christ so they can maintain their worldly (sinful) lifestyles?
    Now let’s contrast the rich young ruler with a sinful tax-collector named Matthew. “As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ So he arose and followed Him.” - Matthew 9:9. Here was a rich tax collector, a sinner with wealth enough to obtain or abscond with anything he desired. We know Matthew’s lifestyle because of what came next - “Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.” - Matthew 9:10. Yet this sinful tax collector didn’t ask a single question of Christ, but simply rose and followed Him!
    The comparison and contrast between the two men offer us a keen look at the grace of God in action. The same message, “Follow Me,” is conveyed to both men, yet one rejects it while the other gratefully accepts the command. Christ knew both men’s hearts. He knew that one would reject Him and that the other would follow Him. “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.” - Matthew 24:40-41.
    The rich young ruler was never mentioned in the gospel again. We know not what became of him. Matthew went on to write the very gospel that most of this post’s verses come from. He preached the Good News of Jesus Christ to a mostly Jewish community in Judea and died a martyr’s death around 60 AD in Ethiopia.
    The offer of salvation is still extended to us by the grace of God. We have a choice here, today. This very hour! “For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” - 2 Corinthians 6:2. 


 I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- Robert Frost

    Let us pray that more men and women will reject the world and accept Christ’s offer to “Follow Me,” and take the road less traveled.