“Go in through the narrow
gate. The gate to destruction is wide, and the road that leads there is easy to
follow. A lot of people go through that gate. But the gate to life is very
narrow. The road that leads there is so hard to follow that only a few people
find it.” Matthew
7:13-14
These two verses are a
part of the Sermon on the Mount which runs from Matthew 5 through Matthew
7. Jesus is teaching His listeners about
the Christian life and has gotten to the part that warns believers of the
dangers of minimizing the difficulties that come to us when we follow the
Lord. There are 3 specific dangers He
mentions in chapter 7. The first is
covered in the above verses. They shine
a light on our tendency to not take the seriousness of discipleship to
heart. Being a Christian is not an easy
life. No one ever said it would be
except men who call themselves preachers and evangelists of the word, yet
spread the notion that life will be problem-free if their listeners will only
follow Jesus. Denying that the way is
narrow and hard flies in the face of scripture that declares the exact
opposite.
The
people of the world sprint down the wide road blaming a God they don’t even
know for all their problems, while attempting to do anything and everything
that tickles their fancy. They are
oblivious to their sin. They smirk at
“religious” folks who seemingly aren’t having any fun in life while they
continue to race ahead. Solomon says in
Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of
death.” Those on that road feel no need to slow down or reconsider their
actions. Their incredible ignorance is
their downfall.
The
narrow gate is one that leads us down an equally narrow road that has bumps,
potholes and sharp turns. They are tests
of our faith as we learn to live as Christ’s ambassadors. It may not be particularly easy, but think of
how difficult life would be without Christ.
Tomorrow
will look at Christ’s 2nd warning in vv. 15-23. Friday morning we’ll
check out His 3rd warning found in vv. 24-27. Until Christ returns, walk with the King and
be a blessing!
Translation:
Contemporary English Bible
Resources: The Reformation Study Bible &
The Asbury Bible Commentary.
