Being a Colorado native, I am no stranger to snow. There have been times when 3 feet of snow fell into my front yard. Some places in our mountains even receive a couple hundred inches of snow. However, all of this is nothing compared to Mt. Tateyama of the Japanese Alps. It is estimated that parts of this mountain range receive as much as 1,500 inches, or a staggering 125 feet, of snow. And there is a highway that runs right over Mt. Tateyama. Thankfully, the highway isn’t in the areas that get 125 feet of snow, but it does regularly see around 60 feet. To put this into a visual, just imagine a 5 story building completely covered from top to bottom in snow. The question is, how in the world do they plow through all of this?
As you might imagine, in the peak of winter the pass is allowed to be buried. It’s just too much snow to deal with. However, once March rolls around, the process starts with a specialized bulldozer. It’s equipped with a GPS and satellite phone. Using these two guides together, the driver is able to see his location in relation to the buried highway somewhere below him. The dozer is then sent up the mountain and over the pass. His job is simply to lay out an accurate track in the snow for the other machines to follow. Then a series of dozers, backhoes, and rotary blowers go to work clearing the snow down to the pavement. The end result leaves an amazing, 60-foot tall snow canyon for cars to travel through (Atlas Obscura).
Years ago there was another road that had been buried. This particular road wasn’t buried with snow, but with sin and worldliness. Then a very special man was sent ahead to start preparing the way to clear this buried path (Mark 1:2-3; John 1:19-23), but it wasn’t his job to make the road. Then another One, a perfect One, a holy One sent from the Lord came to clear the way (Ephesians 2:18; Hebrews 10:20). However, He did more than just show us the way, because as it turns out, He actually is the way (John 14:6). Once He died and was resurrected, the path had been laid, and those who obey His commands are able to travel on the road He made (Matthew 28:18-20). This man is, of course, Jesus Christ.
How awesome it is that this path even exists! As Hebrews details out, this path is far superior to the one the Jews had (Hebrews 7:19-22; 8:6). Many men died trying to assist Christ in building this path, and of course, even Christ died as a result. This path puts us in contact with God’s mercy, love, and grace. We find access to salvation and forgiveness. Best of all, this path leads us to heaven (Matthew 7:13-14). All we have to do is keep walking on this spiritual path (1 John 1:5-7). Let’s keep pressing on, praising God all the way for giving us such a clear path to Him.
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