Which Side Are You On?

At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the good news. (Acts 14:1-7)

In the Canadian Rockies there is a small stream called Divide Creek. It is so named because at one point in its course it is divided by a large boulder. Every drop of water that runs to the left of that boulder flows into the Kicking Horse River which eventually ends up in the Pacific Ocean. Every drop of water that runs to the right of that boulder flows into the Bow River which courses into the Saskatchewan River which runs into Lake Winnipeg and then into the Nelson River which flows into the Hudson Bay and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean. Once the drops of water pass that single boulder at Divide Creek, their eventual home has already been determined. Each droplet of water will eventually end up in either the Pacific or the Atlantic Oceans.

About 300 miles inland off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea lay a little frontier town of Iconium. (Modern day Konya, Turkey) Paul and Barnabas arrived at this community as they were completing the last leg their first missionary journey. As was Paul’s custom, he went first to the synagogue and then to the city as he preached the good news of the forgiveness of sins through the Cross of Christ. After a period of time we are told that the city was divided – “Some sided with those who didn’t believe and others sided with those who did” There were those who received and believed the Gospel message, and there were those who heard and rejected it.

That’s the nature of the Gospel isn’t it? The gospel puts a person at a fork in the road. A decision must be made. A person must either believe and accept the gospel message or doubt and reject the gospel message. And that decision that is made will take that person down one fork in the road or the other. A person who believes the gospel will take a different life path than the person who rejects the gospel. Jesus himself spoke of the two roads in his Sermon on the Mount. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14). Everyone is called to make a choice. It’s one way or the other and there is no in-between.

The Bible calls the Lord Jesus Christ the cornerstone. He is the rock that divides the human race. His sacrifice and the Gospel demand a response. Those who believe and receive the good news of the gospel, - that the Lord Jesus Christ died for their sins so that they can have forgiveness and restored fellowship with God through believing in His name, start a journey down a narrow road that leads to eternal life. Those who reject the good news of the gospel go down a broad path with many companions, but it is a road that ultimately leads to destruction. Unlike the water that courses down Divide Creek, each person has the ability to decide which path they want to follow. We can receive and believe the good news or we can hear and reject it. The question each one must answer is which side will you take?

Live the Victorious Life,
PT