By Dr. Jack Graham
I firmly believe it’s time for men to step up to the unique challenges facing our world today.
We are facing profound moral, ethical, domestic and international issues that mark a culture in need of answers and in need of a Savior. What we need are men who will shape the future and change the world.
But frankly, not many men are responding to the call. I think a lot of men today are at a crossroads. We’re stuck at a crossroads as to the future of the family, the future of the nation. How we decide and how we respond here and now will determine not only the direction of our families, but the very future of civilization as we know it.
A lot of men don’t know which way to go, so they try to go both ways and end up miserable and distracted.
But notice what Jesus said in Mark 8:34–35:
And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”
Men today are looking for fulfillment in life, but so often encounter futility because they find themselves on the wrong road, not on the right road.
Jesus said there are two roads in life: one is broad and smooth and the other is narrow, and that narrow road is exclusive and very few are on it.
Men are at the crossroads today because there are people on the broad road who have been seduced by the world—they’re trying to live in two worlds at the same time and they’re miserable in both.
Being on the broad road is just like being in a traffic jam, getting nowhere fast. Jesus said this broad road leads to destruction. It’s deadly.
But then there’s the right road—the “cross-road.” Jesus said, “Pick up your cross and follow after Me daily.”
This road is narrow and tight. There are boundaries on the crossroad. It has a narrow purpose: that we can pick up our cross and follow Christ.
The only way we can truly become men of God is by getting off that crowded road and getting on the crossroad, being a promise keeper and a pacesetter and a prayer warrior and a peacemaker.
Men, you’re at a crossroad and what you do with your relationship with Jesus Christ will determine not only your destiny, but the destiny of your kids and your grandkids and their kids.
I invite you to pick up your cross and follow Jesus today.
Dr. Jack Graham serves as Pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, one of the largest and most dynamic churches in the country.
This article first appeared on PowerPoint at https://resources.jackgraham.org/resource-library/articles/getting-on-the-crossroad.