A fork in the road

A young boy and his little sister skipped down the road on their way to town. Their mother had sent them to buy some sugar so that she could bake cookies. The boy told his sister that he knew a short cut through the woods so they went off the road and took a path into the woods. They walked merrily under the green leaves of the trees and laughed at the squirrels which scurried away as they passed. They had gone deep into the woods when they came to a fork in the road.

“Which way do we go?” the little girl asked her brother.
“Depends where you want to go,” said a voice beside them. They both jumped from surprise and turned to see an old man sitting on a large rock beside the path. “Well?” the old man asked impatiently. “You do know where you want to go, don’t you?”
The boy drew himself up attempting to appear tall and brave. “We want to go to town,” he said.
“If you go this way,” the old man said pointing his walking stick to the path that went to the right. “You’ll get to a town. And if you go that way,” he said pointing to the path that went to the left. “You’ll get to a town. So I guess you can go either way.”
The boy thought for a while unsure of what to do. Then he had an idea. “Do you know the Olsen’s farm, the one that has a white fence around the house?” he asked the old man.
“Yes, I know the Olsen farm.”
“That’s our farm, and the town we want to go to has a road that goes back to our house.”
“Then you want to take the path that goes to the right,” the old man said. “It will bring you to the town that has a road that goes back to your house.”

The old man raised his walking stick and pointed it at the boy. “I suggest next time you stay on the road. You never know who or what you’ll meet if you get off the road and wander around in the woods. Now get!”
The boy and his sister ran down the path. They made it to town, purchased the sugar, and walked quickly back to their farm.

Later that week the boy was with some friends. His friends wanted to do something that the boy knew was wrong, but he didn’t know what to do. He wanted to stay with his friends, but he didn’t want to do anything bad. He couldn’t decide what to do. “Which way do I go?” he thought to himself. Then he remembered the words of the old man, “It depends on where you want to go.”

After having followed Jesus for more than two years Jesus’ disciples found themselves at a fork in the road. Most of Jesus’ disciples were abandoning him and even his twelve chosen apostles were unsure of which way to go. So Jesus asked them, “Where do you want to go?” Then they knew what to do. They decided to follow Jesus because they knew that Jesus was the only path that could lead them to eternal life.

Maybe you’ve come to a similar fork in the road. You feel pulled in two directions but you’re not sure with path to take. Remember the words of the old man in the woods. The direction you take depends on where you want to go.