Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

"I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." Making a choice. Choosing which way to go in your life's journey, makes all the difference. There comes a time in every life when we have to move from the questioning stage of our life (what I call Quest), through the different levels of commitment to an encounter with God revealed in Christ. It may come through a spiritual experience, a moment of insight, what some call an "Aha" moment, when there is some illumination, which points beyond ourselves, or provides some insight into our need that confronts us with a decision. Let me give you some examples.

Hugh Montefiore came from a devout Jewish family. He had not been exposed to any Christian influence but he had an experience which changed his life. This is his account in his own words:

"I was sixteen years old at the time, and it happened to me about 5 pm one dark wintry afternoon in 1936. I was sitting alone in my study in School House at Rugby School - all older boys had studies of their own: pillboxes, really. What happened then determined the whole future pattern of my life. I was, as I remember indulging in a rather pleasant adolescent gloom. I suddenly became aware of a figure in white whom I saw clearly in my mind's eye. I use this expression because I am pretty sure that a photograph would have shown nothing special on it. I heard the words 'Follow me'. Instinctively I knew that this was Jesus, heaven knows how: I knew nothing about him. Put like that it sounds somewhat bare; in fact it was an indescribably rich event that filled me afterwards with overpowering joy. I could do no other than to follow those instructions. I found that I had become a Christian as a result of a totally unexpected and most unusual spiritual experience, although that was not how I would have put it at the time. I was aware of the living Christ, and because of that I was aware of God in a new way. People ask me why and when I decided to convert. I did not decide at all; it was decided for me."

Spiritual experiences, can encompass a variety of phenomena. They may not be as dramatic as Hugh Montefiore's. They may consist of an awareness of God, or a greater reality, in a sunset, or some personal insight. It is possible to go through such an experience, to be profoundly moved by it, but then let it fade in our consciousness, and never take the road it opens up before us. An experience is not life-changing unless we respond to it. We must open ourselves to the meaning of the experience in such a way that it is integrated into our life. We must say 'Yes' to this vision of God: "Yes, I will recognize the reality of God (which is faith), and I will alter my life to fit in with the implications of this reality (which is repentance). It is the saying "Yes" and acting upon it that results in conversion. Procrastination or indifference to such a crossroads experience is a denial of the whole spiritual side of our nature. It is a refusal of the journey to wholeness.

My mentor, John Stott, tells of how he responded to such a crossroads in his life when he was at Rugby School, two years later than Hugh Montefiore. He had heard a talk on Pilate's question: 'What then shall I do with Jesus, who is called the Christ?' "That I needed to do anything with Jesus was an entirely novel idea to me, for I had imagined that somehow he had done whatever needed to be done, and that my part was only to acquiesce. The speaker, Mr. Nash, however, was quietly but powerfully insisting that everybody had to do something about Jesus, and that nobody could remain neutral. Either we copy Pilate and weakly reject him, or we accept him personally and follow him... In a way I can't quite express I was bowled over by this because it was an entirely new concept to me that one had to do anything with Jesus. I believed in him. I never doubted him. He existed. He was part of my mental furniture.

With the benefit of hindsight I can say that the correspondence between my need and Christ's offer [of salvation] seemed too close to be a coincidence. So that night at my bedside I made the experiment of faith, and 'opened the door' to Christ. I saw no flash of lightning, heard no peals of thunder, felt no electric shock pass through my body, in fact I had no emotional experience at all. I just crept into bed and went to sleep. For weeks afterwards, even months, I was unsure of what happened to me. But gradually I grew, as the diary I was writing at the time makes clear, into a clearer understanding and a firmer assurance of the salvation and lordship of Jesus Christ.... The verse that made it clear to me is Revelation 3:20. In it Jesus Christ is speaking, and this is what he says: 'Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.' Jesus depicts himself standing outside the closed door of our personality. He is knocking, in order to draw our attention to his presence and to signify his desire to come in. He adds the promise that if we open the door, he will come in and we will eat together. That is, the joy of our fellowship with each other will be so satisfying that it can only be compared to a feast.

Intellectually speaking, I had believed in Jesus all my life, on the other side of the door. I had regularly struggled to say my prayers through the keyhole. I had even pushed pennies under the door in a vain attempt to pacify him. I had been baptized, yes and confirmed as well. I went to church, read my Bible, had high ideals, and tried to be good, and do good. But all the time, often without realizing it, I was holding Christ at arm's length, and keeping him outside. I knew that to open the door might have momentous consequences. I am profoundly grateful to him for enabling me to open the door. Looking back now, I realize that that simple step has changed the entire direction and quality of my life."

When Jesus recruited his disciples, he called them to 'Follow me.' Philip found Nathanael and invited him to come and see Jesus (John 1:43-51). When he came along reluctantly, with much reservation and skepticism, Jesus revealed his knowledge of Nathanael, his honesty and authenticity: 'Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.' Taken aback Nathanael asks: 'How do you know me?' Jesus looked deep into his soul and answered: 'I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.' It was then that Nathanael had his moment of illumination and declared his faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the king of Israel. Jesus responded: 'You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that. You will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.'

What is your response to Jesus? What is your response to your personal encounter with God? What will you do with the One who knocks at your door?

A Prayer:

Lord, I admit that I have resisted you and hurt others, and have gone my own way. I want to stop being self-centered. I thank you for your great love in dying for me, for suffering for my sins. Now I open the door of my heart to you. Come in, Lord Jesus. Come in as my Savior, to cleanse and renew me. Come in as my Lord to direct me in your way for the rest of my life's journey. Amen.

(Quotations are taken from Timothy Dudley-Smith, John Stott, The Making of a Leader. A Biography, The Early Years, IVP, 1999)