Yes, Exits Are Required

I wasn’t too concerned.  We had just driven this a year ago.  How difficult can it be?  I lived in Dallas for two years without google maps.  Did we really need to use it every second?  Well, despite my husband’s warnings, I missed two exits. In both cases, I didn’t think we had to turn off at all.  I thought the other traffic veered away from us.  Nope.  I was wrong.

Exits are funny things.  They take action, a commitment.  Once I’ve exited an interstate, I can’t just get right back on. I have to leave that route behind and join a new one.

Recently, my department head at the school I teach at offered me a new teaching option.  It’s an excellent option, but I would have to give up a class I have loved teaching.  Ugggh.  Not a fun decision.  I much prefer what happened over COVID when extreme staffing changes didn’t leave me with a decision.  I was just told, “This is what we need.”  If only I didn’t have to make difficult decisions at all.

Much too often the Christian life is treated like an exitless interstate.  Especially in America, we can choose a safe life plan and coast on this interstate comfortably.  For the most part, we can do what we want without making any sacrificial exits. While this method may be okay for a time, the Christian life requires us to take exits.  As Jesus told the disciples, he said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24). 

My roommate in college, the daughter of Wycliffe missionaries, said her dad taught her that when you feel lead to pray for someone, it is important to drop everything and pray fervently.  “True peace cannot come until that is done,” he said.  While some may need to exit a comfort zone to reach out to serve in a new way, others may just need to exit a more selfish method of managing time and leave hobbies, screen time or even good duties to devote time to genuine prayer for specific people or situations. 

Jesus spent a significant portion of his time seeking out those the Jews despised-the tax collectors who took advantage of them at the Roman’s bidding, the Samaritan woman who was too shameful to draw water with the other women, the prostitute who interrupted the dinner party to wash Jesus’ feet. The call to step out of our comfort zone and reach out to those our friends and family may not be comfortable around requires a costly sacrifice.  Jesus was never interested in making the religious people comfortable, only implementing his “upside down” gospel, ending the religious order of prestige and sacrifice and chose “what is foolish in the world to shame the wise” and “what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27-28).  This could not be accomplished by going with the flow of the current religious order.  He had to continually make exits, big uncomfortable exits to demonstrate what his kingdom was like. Paul says, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23). 

Poor Ananias had to make a swift uncomfortable exit.  He was just going about his life when the Lord told him in a vision to go visit one of the fiercest enemies of Christians (Act 9:10-19).  Philip had to cross cultural lines and approach a complete stranger in order to help the Ethiopian understand the scriptures (Act 8:26-40). Jesus asked the disciples to stay up and pray (Matthew 26:40).  Did they do it?  No.  They failed.  But the act of denying themselves sleep to pray is just as much an “exit” as “going” and obeying. 

Will there be times of unfettered travel?  Times of quiet, mundane duties?  Absolutely.  But Christ’s ministry was made up of exits, unmistakable acts of going against the flow.  1 Peter tells us, “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking . . . “ (4:1).  As children of God, we are called to “exit” at some point, to make definite moves to pray, become more like Christ, approach others, etc. . . . Exits are uncomfortable.  They require boldness, discomfort and a rocking of the boat at times.  If the road we are to take is indeed “narrow”, however, we are all required to make an exits.