"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers."
Psalm 1:1-3 (ESV)
I was mountain biking through the forest as a teenager when I came across a fork in the road. It was the classic scenario: as I stopped at the fork, I looked down one path, then the other, trying to figure out which way I should go. I had lost my way in the woods. Certainly, one of these paths would lead me to where I needed to go, but which one? If only one was dark and foggy, and the other well lit, as I saw in the movies! But it wasn't. If only I knew where the paths would end!
The Bible presents a similar picture of the two paths, and the Psalmist describes the options in the first Psalm. The first is the path of righteousness; the second is the path of wickedness. Just like my situation in the forest, the two paths are divergent. They will lead to very different destinations. Unlike my situation in the forest, however, the destinations aren't a mystery.
The Psalmist knows full well where the paths will lead. The path of righteousness is God's way, and it will lead to a prosperous life. It leads to a life that is rooted in good soil. The path of wickedness is the opposite of God's way. Rather than being "firmly rooted", the wicked are blown away with the wind. In the end, the wicked path leads to destruction.
The Christian knows these two paths as the "path of Adam" and the "path of Christ". The path of Adam is the path we forge on our own; it is doing things our own way, putting confidence in our own goodness, righteousness, intelligence, or competence to save us. The path of Christ is just the opposite: it's recognizing that our own path will never do, that our own path leads us astray, but Christ has shown us the way! Rather than putting confidence in our own path, we put our confidence in Christ. In Him, we are firmly rooted! (Colossians 2:6-7)