The End of the Highway

The End of the Highway

3/12/12

Life portrays a fast lane experience that provides the human eye with an array of opportunities and choices that will supply every want of the race.  Modern living sets the stage for a liberal agenda which seems so vast that its invitation is clear to the soul that it is the correct choice of opportunity.  What life does not tell you is that when we have consumed ourselves at this pace we as humans tend to focus on our own worlds and ignore the oncoming traffic.  This message came to me years after the event occurred but it is so fitting for the situation of the current times and should serve as a thinking point to our surroundings.

Ask my parents, Keith Green has always been a favorite composer of mine and I have always held his music close to my heart.  Keith passed away in a plane crash in the early 80s, but thanks to modern technology, I am still capable of listening to his music when I feel the need.  Keith Green wrote a song called “Run to the End of the Highway”.  Back in the 80s it became one of my favorite songs.  I have listened to this song for decades and loved its message each time it is played, but at least I thought I had heard its message.

I took a trip with my dad and my brother in late summer of 1997.  It was a trip to Africa!!!  It would be my first trip outside of the western hemisphere, to a distant country to experience another type of living.  I had previously journeyed with dad to Haiti and El Salvador but this trip was going to be different in many ways.  Yes, it was going to be a spiritual conference, with evangelistic sessions, and even a baptismal service that you would have to personally experience to put it into words.  Scenery that you have read about in books, seen in movies, but to see it first hand, what an amazing experience it was going to be.

The scene would be war torn Cote D’Ivoire; a hard country with a very captive history both physically and spiritually.  It is known that in the colonial periods of world history that the Gold Coast, as the entire area was called, has many riches in its land.  Ivory, gold, fruit, oil are common but the more expensive commodity was slaves and the entire slave trade industry.  Its leaders of the recent past have also been hard on the people and the country itself.  Many known and unknown atrocities have occurred during this recent past, with suffering that is mind boggling if studied closely.  And now I have stepped foot into this environment…welcome to the new surroundings and everything that it has to offer.

The Africa portion of the trip begins in Abidjan, which is the largest city in the country and the financial capital of the country.  All major dealings of the country are directed through this city, both nationally and internationally.  The American group, which accumulated in New York City, will be divided between two hotels, the Hotel Golf and the International Hotel.  A few days stay at this location and then we would be off to the conference for the remaining of the trip.  Abidjan is a thriving metropolis with the majority of modern accessories located within a few miles of each other; however, at the same time you still notice the oddities that surround the entire area.

Yamoussoukro is the main center of attraction for the trip, the place where all things were to accumulate with a huge revival and spiritual meetings which and it actually happened.  It was a wonderful experience that I shall never forget and one day would like to experience again.  But the Yamoussoukro meetings and revival is not the focus of this message.  It was the surroundings that were present that began on the way up to Yamoussoukro and would continue until…the end of the highway.

Yamoussoukro is a town that was “built” literally by a past leader of the country.  It was his home village and he wished that it would be a center of attraction for his country.  Billions were spent on the infrastructure of the town with nothing spared.  Five star, high rise hotels were everywhere, a golf course adjacent to one of them groomed as a golf course should.  The second largest Catholic Basilica in the world was built in the town along with one of the world’s largest Mosques.  At least four universities outlined the town with most of the modern courses available to students, whether or not the courses and degrees offered were useful to the land was of no consequence.  Roads and highways lined the town, beautifully constructed and easily driven upon when needed.  And I am not going to mention the huge United Nations building complex that was used only about twice a year and would be the place where the leadership meetings would occur.

Sounds like a well developed place, right?  As you drove by these monuments and rode on the streets, even with their beauty one thing stood out to me; the majority of the streets ended abruptly, with no warning, with the jungle staring at you.  The scenery kind of reminded me of the south where there are many trees that surround the roads, and sometimes you can feel like you are living in a hole.  But this place was different, so much that in the back of your mind you know you are in Africa but you see modern buildings right in front of you.  What is different? The jungle makes the entire difference.

After a rally in the local soccer stadium, we loaded up into the bus and were heading back to the hotel for lunch.  Now, I am not familiar with the roads in Yamoussoukro so I cannot tell you if this way was a normal route, but I do know that my eyes were opened when we stopped at an intersection, and then made a turn towards the direction of our hotel.  It was a quick glimpse to my left and for just a second and then it was behind me.  My eyes saw the jungle, only about 15 yards from where we were turning.  Not just a few branches or a few trees…but a jungle.  So thick that you could not see anything past the first row of trees.  Yes, jungle.  I had been drawn into the beauty of the monuments and the surroundings and then all of a sudden reality hits jungle. 

I remember that I could not believe my eyes with the sudden change of scenery.  A few hours ago, a few streets over, I was standing in front of, and then entering, the second largest Catholic Basilica in the world, taking pictures of a well groomed banana grove, and a few minutes before I was sitting in a modern stadium with thousands of people present and now a few hundred yards down this one road I am staring at the jungle.  The road just ends; no warnings nor signs present, it just ends.  It looks like the jungle rose up and claimed what it was rightfully its own.  My modern mind could not believe that such a thing could happen, but in this land, this reality occurs on a daily basis. 

I was always told, watched movies, and read books that Sub-Saharan Africa was nothing but jungles.  This was not news to me; yet, when I was told that that it takes so many man hours to keep the jungle in “its place” and if man did not keep up with the jungle, the jungle would actually take back claim its territory over the roads, I could not believe my ears.  What??  All of the groomed yards and buildings cannot keep the jungle away?  Even the banana groves clustered around have the same issues?  See the jungle in sub-Saharan Africa is the natural terrain of the land and humans have to continually work at keeping the jungle from reclaiming its territory, which this process serves as a monumental task to complete.

Stop and think about our paths in life for a minute.  What happened??  We were fine, having it easy, everything is running smoothly and then “it” happens.  We realize that we have been following a grand path that leads to nowhere.  We stop and look around..jungle on three sides of us and a long road back.  The first thought that enters our minds is….how far does the jungle, or obstacle in front of us, go and I wonder how long it would take to get through it.  As we turn and look at our fourth option, we realize that taking the long road back is not enticing, we also now realize that while driving this long road we are now alone and nowhere else to go.

Don’t forget that the jungle is actually the natural landscape of the country and all of the easy travelling has been paved before you.  You have to know for sure that you are headed in the correct direction and that the person giving you directions, or driving you, knows exactly what they are doing and knows where they are taking you.  The jungle serves a purpose but so does the road that you are travelling; which of the surroundings are you going to pay attention to more closely.  The answer is obvious, as humans we are going to take the easy road and the more scenic route.  But what is your guide saying?

Be still…and know your driver J  He shall lead you down the straight, narrow and safe path.  It may get rocky and have bumps along the way, but He will guide you as long as you listen to Him and what He is saying.  Don’t get caught looking at the surroundings and lose sight of the master plan in your life.  I am not saying not to look at your surroundings, there are many wonderful things to experience in life; but remember to keep your eyes on your driver and your ears open to his voice.

Once again it took over a decade for me to figure something out that God wanted me to see.  It was shocking to learn that, at least for this moment the convention was not the center of attention, it was the road that led me to the convention center and where that road eventually ended.  If you do reach the end of the highway…stop, turn around and locate your driver again.  Talk to Him and listen to His directions.  It might seem a tad silly and people might look at you funny, but in the long run it will be worth it.  Be still…..and know.  Keith, the message that you gave to us decades ago still rings out loud today. God is the ultimate driver of your life, even though He allows us to make our own turns in life He is always ready to help when needed.  My advice is this; stay on that long straight road and keep your heart’s eyes and ears on your driver and your road, even though the jungle is present, your result in life will be greater in the end.

DLB