Gregory T. Jacobs
 
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Matthew 7: 13-14 (ESV)

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

I know that I have used this passage in previous Blog postings, but I just can't seem to shake this verse.  I was having breakfast with a best friend this morning and we started discussing this topic.  The question that arose is "Why is the straight and narrow so wide?"  At first glance this seems contradictory to the above passage, but when you ponder it for a while, it becomes so painfully obvious. 

The way is wide because very few find it.  It is not that the path or the gate is wide, it is that very few are walking on it.  Growing up we lived on a school bus route out in the country that was hairy and treacherous to say the least.  Our school bus driver was the best of the best, but no matter how good she was, she was still driving on one-lane roads.  As long as nobody else was trying to pass her we were fine.  We didn't feel the restrictiveness of the narrow road.  However, as soon as she turned a corner and was head-on with a pick-up truck, somebody was going down on the shoulder.

When was the last time that you got elbowed in the eye while walking the straight and narrow?  Was it from all of the people fighting to get ahead or pass you.  I would venture to say that has never happened.  Yes, sometimes it feels like it is lonely on that path, but we should only feel that way if we are looking to man to satisfy our insecurities.  We are not supposed to get our affirmation and encouragement from those that are treading on the wide path towards destruction.  God is on the narrow way.  If it says that few will find it, then we should not be surprised when we are down and out and looking to man to lift our spirits, that we don't find His solace and comfort.

I have stopped hoping that I don't offend people with my comments, but rather want to challenge and encourage them in love.  If they are in love with this world, then it is my job through the Holy Spirits direction to remind them of which path leads where.  Several people have told me that I write "Deep" blogs.  For that I thank you, as I have no intention of being surface level.  However, the question that I throw out is are they Deep, or are you Shallow?  I feel that if you are reading your Bible, Praying, and Seeking Jesus face all through the day, you are probably in the 1/2 percentile.  Does that mean that the other 99.5% of people are going to hell?  I am just saying that few will find it...

 


Comments

Brad Carter

05/27/2010 11:54:34 am

I was just talking yesterday with a friend about the same issues. Noah and his family were the only ones God spared of millions on the earth at the time. Also, there was just a small remnant of Isreal that He set aside quoted in Issaih 1:9. I think this just proves that very few are willing to be connected with God. I firmly believe that if you don't have a relationship with Christ, you are lost. Do you realize how many churches have many members just going through the motions? The next 2 verses of your passage tells us to watch out for false prophets, and ye shall know them by their fruits. That poses the question: How many people do we know that when they are on the outside of the church, they act no different than the world? What kind of fruit are we bearing? Do people around us even know we call ourselves Christians, but only in certain circles?
Something was said in the message I heard Sunday that said some of us were raised in the church all our lives, and it's hard for us to understand those who weren't and how easy it is to condemn those who have had issues we may have never dealt with. The problem I have with that is, even growing up in the church, we aren't exempt from problems. We are human. Sadly, many who grew up in the church, including myself, have just gone through the motions of Christianity instead of embracing what it's all about. I know now that my relationship with Christ has made all the difference for me.

But how do we get to that narrow gate? First we have to let go of the things of the world that so easily entangle us and take our focus off Christ. The problem though, just like the peer pressure we had when we were kids to want to fit in, hasn't changed even when we've grown up. We still want to fit in. But God has called us to separate ourselves from the world.

A survey indicated that only 12% of people who said they believe the Bible actually read it every day; 34% read it only once a week, and 42% read it only once in a great while. How can we have a relationship with Christ when His Word is laying around just collecting dust? We have the resources and a God who will never leave us or forsake us. He never promises it will be easy, but He will be right there by our side to see us through. It's a choice we have to make; Choose God or the ways of the world.

 



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