Have you ever driven on a familiar highway that has just been resurfaced? Was it so freshly paved the highway workers had not painted lane markers? Well, recently I had such an occasion on Highway 190 in my small town of Covington.

Like many roadways in Louisiana, this one was in dire need of resurfacing. It was narrow, worn and filled with ruts and potholes. After quite some time, the planning commission decided to resurface and widen this section of the highway. They decided to add a center lane for turning to bring our road up to modern standards with a much longer and wider turning lane on the northbound side of the highway.

One day I entered Highway 190, heading south to run a few errands. The widening and resurfacing had been completed, but the lines were not drawn. The drive across the lanes was smooth, almost like riding on air. It was fun at first, but quickly that feeling turned to fear. Within a moment I became disoriented by the massive black expanse that lay ahead. What was once routine had suddenly become strange. I was uncertain as to what to do. Traffic was coming toward me from the other direction, and suddenly I didn’t know where the lanes began or ended. It was fast and furious and so confusing for everyone.

Traffic was coming toward me from the other direction, and suddenly I didn’t know where the lanes began or ended.

The southbound lane had become the center turning lane, and what used to be the right shoulder was widened and had become the southbound lane. I found myself in the middle of the road not knowing where I was supposed to go. It was just as bad on the way home in the northbound lane. Finally, they striped the road and painted the arrows indicating turning lanes. The road was safe to drive again.

No stripes, no arrows: a Christian lesson

I couldn’t help but see the parallel of this highway and our Christian lives today. So often we hear people in and out of the Church exclaiming, “No one is going to tell me what to do and how to live my life!” People often want independence and don’t want to answer to anyone for anything. It seems that few people are willing to submit to authority anymore. That is sad. Without rules and guidelines and directions, we would all be on the highway of life, scrambling around, trying to figure out where to go, all the while dodging near catastrophes.

The lines and the arrows on roads tell us where we should be driving. There are laws that, when enforced, see to it that we obey these directions. The directions keep order and provide safety for all.

God’s law teaches us where to drive, spiritually speaking. His laws are directions that, if followed, provide safety, comfort and peace for all.

That is what God’s law does for us as Christians. God’s law teaches us where to drive, spiritually speaking. His laws are directions that, if followed, provide safety, comfort and peace for all. If we cross a line on a highway, it can be dangerous. Sometimes it can be fatal. If we cross the lines God has given us, it can be even more dangerous. Sometimes it can lead to a spiritual fatality.

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:33 that God is not the author of confusion. He is a God of order and peace. When we don’t want to be told what to do, we are in essence rejecting what God has set in motion as a way for us to live.

Everything is governed by a law of some sort. Throw a ball in the air, and it comes back down because it is governed by the law of gravity. Who put that law in motion? God did! God even allows human judges and officials to rule and govern over the land, hence the law of the land.

Stay between the spiritual lines

Be on guard. If we reject authority, we are putting ourselves on a very dangerous spiritual highway. We are opening ourselves up to our adversary, Satan the devil. Now I am not suggesting that we not question things from time to time. God wants to know that we know what we know. We are told to prove or test all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

However, it is one thing to prove the validity of something and another to reject and refuse simply because we do not want to be told what to do. How can God work with us if we are not willing to follow directions and bend to the laws that He has set in motion? God wants to see if we have a willing heart to submit to Him.

The officials who have been appointed to set the rules and regulations for highway safety base their decisions on what they know will protect travelers, if these laws are followed. There is no malice in their decision making. Likewise, there was no malice in the heart of our Father when He set forth His laws for us to follow. God’s laws were given out of His love for us. In fact, when we follow God’s laws, we also show love toward God and love toward all mankind.

It is so important to live by the laws that govern our streets and highways. If we follow directions and stay between the lines, the end result can be safety and longer days on this earth. If we adhere to God’s laws and stay between the spiritual lines that He has drawn for us, the end result will be peace and eternal life.