My dear readers,

The Life Above, Below

Proverbs 16:17: “The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.”

It is just an amazing truth that there are citizens of heaven walking on this earth rubbing shoulders with citizens of earth. These citizens of heaven were once citizens of earth which makes them more empathetic and compassionate to those who are of the earth only and not of heaven. These citizens of heaven are on their way to heaven, their new home in Christ. They have a new purpose from their new Lord and only Saviour Jesus Christ who has given to them a twofold mission.

The first is to share the love of God in Christ that they have experienced in their heart that has transformed them from abject sinners to righteous saints. They do so by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ (according to Holy Scriptures) through a Christ-centred life impacted by the gospel. In this manner the Holy Spirit will use this holy witness to save souls unto God (cf. Matt 28:18-20). The second is to serve, fellowship and worship with like-minded brothers and sisters-in-Christ who, like them, are on their way to heaven.

This union in fellowship is always in God’s perfect truth, hence the “like-minded” concept is used, especially in these last days when unity is at the expense of truth and is man-centred. The former glorifies God and the latter mocks God and deceives sinners. By serving, fellowshipping and worshipping together, they are able to co-labour with God and build up each other’s Christian lives by provoking one another unto love and good works (cf. 1 Cor 3:9; Heb 10:24).

With this reality in mind let us embrace God’s injunction in Proverbs 16:17 to depart from evil, for it is the highway of the upright. The “highway” literally means a way that is above ground. In the figurative sense and in this case, the spiritual sense as well, it refers to a life that is above this life of flesh and blood. In this manner, all believers in Christ (for they are the only upright ones on earth) will live above the world on this earth below. This is not only possible but a clear command to all believers that the reason they have not been taken home to heaven is that God wants them to live a life of heaven on earth so that all who see their heavenly life will turn to Christ and receive Him as Lord and Saviour.

No sinner ought to remain in this hopeless life of sin and depravity. There is a better way and life for them at this moment! The believer walking the highway is evidence of this manifested truth. To walk in uprightness, they are to walk away from evil. They cannot walk in uprightness on Sunday and in evil the rest of the week. They cannot walk in uprightness at home and in church but in evil at school and at work. They cannot walk in uprightness in the day and in evil in the night! The consistency in walking the holy highway day and night and in every place is the only acceptable way to walk before God and man.

The literal translation of Proverbs 16:17 is: “The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: the one who preserves his soul is he who keeps his way.” To preserve one’s soul is to keep it safe by building a hedge around it so that nothing is allowed to break through to lead the soul into sin. The material he uses to build this hedge is made of the love of God in Christ. This is mixed thoroughly with God’s truth. He mixes these two materials well with the ingredient called faith. To apply all these materials together to ensure that his soul is kept safely in holiness, he seals it by praying without ceasing knowing that God alone can keep this hedge tightly and from being penetrated and destroyed.

The believer’s soul has been cleansed and washed by the blood of Christ of every sin. It is now a servant to righteousness. It no longer listens to or obeys the voice of sin that once controlled it at will. His soul belongs to Christ now. He trusts Christ to keep it safe and secure. But it is his responsibility given to him by Christ to do his part by faith, diligently studying His holy Word, and keeping the love of God in his heart burning brightly. In this way he keeps, i.e. secures, his highway safely from all attacks, seduction and temptations. This is emphasized by the use of the synthetic parallelism; the LORD teaches believers that taking the highway enables him to “preserve his soul.” Let us depart from an evil mouth, mind, heart and life, always to the glory of God in Christ.

This highway traversed by the upright is holy in Christ. The world has never seen such holy behaviour before as it is found only in Christ. Every Christian has been blessed with this holy way to walk. He lives above carnality. He turns his back on the attractions of the world. He knows that if the world approves the life of the believer, it means the believer is walking the low earthly road of sin.

The highway is also the way of righteousness. The believer seeks only to do all things according to God's Word which encapsulates the highway of righteousness. Situational ethics that was used in his old life and mind is rejected in totality. This happened when the Lord blessed him with the mind of Christ upon salvation. He begins to fill this new mind of Christ with the righteous truths of God’s Word. Walking the highway becomes the new normal for him. He knows in his heart that the highway is also the right way back to heaven where his heavenly Father resides. It is also called the narrow way by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount that He preached in Matthew 5 to 7.

This is the highway of the upright that our loved ones, friends, and enemies need to see more than anything else in our lives. Everywhere we go, as born-again children of God, let this life from

above be seen by all who live below. Amen.