Life calls for decision

Some would hold that the forks in the road of life are not, in the long run, all that the important because time brings you around to where you started. Not so, says C.S. Lewis, because every road has a series of forks and each one plays a determinative role in where you end up. Simple math tells me if a road had only 10 forks it would be possible for you to find yourself in 60,900,000 different terminal points. The point is simple ¬– each decision along the way is crucial if you care about your destination.
       John tells us that a number of those who were following Jesus now found some of his teaching offensive  (e.g., “No one can come to me unless the Father makes it possible”) and no longer went with him (John 6:65-66). Jesus turned to his disciples and asked if they were going to leave him as well. Then, a few days later, when they arrived in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked, “And what about you? Who do you say I am?” Speaking for the group, Peter answered, “You are the promised Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). And that has become the critical decision for all as we stand at the fork of life’s road facing the decision that will determine where we will spend eternity, “Who is Jesus?” Although the question is simple, its consequences are beyond imagination.
       Think of what an affirmative answer acknowledges: Jesus was only a small town teacher from Nazareth, but (as reported in our text thus far) he can heal the sick, cast out demons, quiet the storm, bring a child back to life, feed a multitude with a handful of fish and bread, and even walk on water! He claims to be the very Son of God. So, who do you think he is?  The options are only two: He isn’t who he says he is, or he is. Consider the first; If he isn’t, then currently some 2.2 billion followers are mistaken about the most important thing in their life, most of the great art and literature of the world was inspired by the work of a charlatan, the scientific advances of the western world operate on a principle that is not true (the stability of the material world), the greatest humanitarian concerns of man are based on the word of a phony, an incredible number of Christians believers over time have been ready to die for their confidence in him. If Jesus, the promised Messiah, is not who he says he is, God incarnate, then the greatest intellectual, social, humanitarian, and religious movement of mankind is no more than a historical accident. 
       On the other hand, if Jesus is the Son of God, then everything Scripture teaches is absolutely true and critically important for the life and future of every living soul. There is a heaven and a hell as taught in Scripture, and in which one each of us will spend eternity is determined by how we answer his question, “And who do you say I am?”  (emphasis on “you“). 
       This brings us to the most important fork in life’s road. The sign points one direction and you can see in the early evening sky the glow of that eternal city; down the other way you will see everything beginning to fade until you’ll find yourself in what Jesus called “the fires of hell” (Matt. 5:22). At this point the decision has to be made by each individual. Many take the broad way, in fact, Jesus tells us that the road leading to life is narrow and “only a few find it” (Matt. 7:13). Momentous decision. To pass through the “narrow gate” requires but one thing, and that is your agreement with what Peter said to Christ, “You are the promised Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Your Yes says,  “I believe by faith that you are the Son of the living God who died for my sins and rose again to life that I might join you forever in that place called heaven.