When merchants took the old trade route... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23.

When merchants took the old trade route from Amsterdam to Byzantium in the Middle Ages, they had to pass through the pretty town of Limburg on the river Lahn. The inhabitants like to show visitors the narrowest part of the historic road. In the coachmen's inn in Cologne they had already been warned about the bottleneck there. The measurement of suitable vehicles had already been given, so that none was stuck between the houses.

This reminds us that we are all on life's journey to a distant, unknown destination. There are always people who set their own "measurement" for their journey, wanting to reach heaven in their own way.

Will they succeed? If a coachman failed to heed the information in Cologne, and his vehicle was too wide, he faced a gigantic problem in Limburg.

In His Word, the Bible, God has informed us of the standard required in order to get to heaven. We have to put things in order in our lifetime here. If we discover to our horror that we have all sinned, and do nothing about it, we shall fail to get to heaven. We should, in fact, not need to discover that from God's Word: our conscience should tell us. God offers us forgiveness and salvation through the work of His Son on the cross. This we must believe and accept.

What a good thing it is that today's verse continues: "being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (v.24). God's grace is still available and is offered to everyone.

Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 31:9-21 · Revelation 18:1-10