Isaiah 62:10

"Go through, Go through the gates! Prepare way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, Lift up a banner for the peoples"
Isaiah 62:10

Isaiah tells us to prepare the way for the people. He tells us to build the highways for others to travel, we are to exert the energy so others can find the path easier. He encourages us to remove the pitfalls that we encounter so others will not fall. Finally, he instructs us to erect road signs so people will not get lost. All of this takes time and effort.

Imagine with me for a moment an elderly man walking through a dense forest. He is following a path the deer have made, and few people ever trod. Near the middle of day the old fellow comes to a deep rushing ravine. Looking carefully, his years of experience in the woods reveals a very narrow tree branch that has fallen across the divide. Carefully, delicately, the gentleman makes
his way across the swollen stream and safely reaches the other side. He turns and faces the crevasse he has managed to cross, scratches his head, and reaches for an ax strapped to his back. In the waning hours of the day, the man carefully fells a large tree across the stream, twines vines to make safety ropes for people to use for balance, and makes sure everything is secured for the ages. Finally, just before dark, he finishes. A young man approaches from behind him. It appears he too crossed the thin branch much earlier in the day. Viewing the work of the older man, he asks: "Why did you bother with the bridge? You are already across the danger, and you are so old. You will never pass this way again. Why did you take the time?"

With kindly eyes, the man looks at the youth and replies: "I built the bridge so anyone coming after me can have an easier crossing than I did. I don't want anyone to lose his way because I did not make his path easier."

That is the essence of the words of Isaiah. We, as believers, need to make the path easier for those following, even if it makes our work harder and delays our journey. That is what God has called us to do. Are you doing it? Think about it? Amen and Amen.