Traffic and Transit

On my morning drive I listen to an all news radio station which features traffic reports every 10 minutes. "The time now is 7:41. Time for traffic and transit on the ones," is the general introduction. This is the portion of the broadcast to which I pay the closest attention. To me the traffic and weather reports are the most useful parts of any news program because they represent news that is more than simply information, it actually contains information I can use and may determine some of my own actions.

When I hear stories about a city councilman's crusade to remove electric currents from manhole covers or a 92 year old Brooklyn woman winning the lottery, I'm genuinely interested, but I keep right on driving. However, if I hear that traffic is backed up on the Grand Central Parkway due to an overturned SUV on the exit ramp to the Clearview Expressway, I change the route I'm on and look for an alternative.

Many people approach Christian teaching like they do a basic news report. It's interesting, but it doesn't do anything to me. I prefer to think of the Gospel in terns of a traffic report. Just as the purpose of the traffic report is to let you know if the road you're on will get you where you need to go, the Gospel is more than information, it tends to show you that the road you're traveling, in spite of your familiarity with it, may be the wrong way to go. The biggest difference is that, while we still may get to work without listening to the traffic report, we are all on the wrong road without the Gospel.