As Pastor Fred finished up the series The Impossible Gospel we dived into Matthew 7:13-14. The center of the discussion is the two paths that leads to two different gates. One gate is easy to find and allows for many to enter. The second gate is smaller and is designed for a smaller amount of traffic. Growing up on a farm we had the 12’ gates that allowed for tractors and multiple cows to enter at one time. Then we had the 4’ gate and that was often connected to a chute and it allowed only one cow to pass through at a time and the chute was about 3’ wide, so there was no room fir the cow to turn around and it kept the cows on the straight and narrow. The gates that Jesus was referring to was more about the way of salvation and not cattle handling.
This parable is talking more about how people are searching and gaining salvation. We live in a culture that claims that we should live our own truth and that there are more than one way into heaven. How. Often does this lifestyle tell us that as long as it makes us happy, we should do it, and this is how we find salvation or at least bliss. My first question is that what if our own happiness comes at the expense of someone else, should we still do it, especially if it someone we are close to and value? Happiness is often based on a feeling and is more me focused. Doing what makes happy is apart of the wide road because a lot of people are trying to be happy instead of content.
Another observation concerning the gates and salvation is that is Jesus the only way that we can be saved? Some would argue that Jesus is one of many options if Jesus is an option at all. Or we have people that say it’s Jesus pls something else. So here is my question, it Jesus isn’t the only option for salvation, why do we choose to be a Christian? It’s a lot of work, self denial and hardships. The rules also seem to be overbearing and exclusive. There are other religions that are more warm and fuzzy along with being inclusive that would seem to be better than Christianity if all roads lead to the same place. There is a bumper sticker that says coexist and it uses the symbols of the more popular world religions. As much as the people on the wide road want to believe this, at the end of the day they will become incompatible with each other because their core beliefs are all different.
The narrow road is filled with ups and downs along with heartbreak and joys. Is Christianity the narrow road because not everyone is willing to pick up their cross and follow Jesus? Or is it narrow because we are called to give up what makes us happy so that we can be content? In the book of James, he tells us that we are to consider it pure joy when we go through trials and temptations because it builds endurance, perseverance and is a refining process so they we become more like Christ. So I will leave you with these two things. The first one is what keeps you on the straight and narrow? Is it to become more Christ like or is our of fear or a sense of duty. The second thing is if it was easy everyone would do it
Grace and Peace
Tom Boustead
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