Tonight we looked at road-building and obstacles based on Isaiah 57:14 which says, “Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.” (Isaiah 57:14) The children watched a video about how roads are made and then made their own paper road with the verse on. We looked at how Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and is the only way to God the Father (John 14:6), how we must choose the narrow road to life and how God wants us to walk on the way of holiness. (Is 35:8)
Just as there has to be preparation in building a road, removing rubble, making sure the site is level and appropriate drainage is present, so too there must be repentance and a clearing away of the old way of life for us to follow Jesus. But obstacles can make travelling very difficult; sometimes, roads are blocked because of fallen trees or damage, as we are currently experiencing in Goldthorpe with the bypass closed after a car was set on fire in the underpass to Phoenix Park. Obstacles in life come from the trials and temptations we face and our sinful tendency to try to remove problems in our own strength rather than asking for God’s help.
We may be unable to move a tree on our own, but a team of people could do this. Perhaps this is why God gives us the church to help us on life’s journey. We are here to encourage each other, listen and help each other. (1 Thess 5:11, 14) James tells us to pray for each other. (James 5: 13-16) In this way, we are helped to continue with perseverance on the road marked out for us by God.