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. (Matthew 7:13-14)
Say what? The way is hard that leads to life?
Jesus obviously didn’t go to marketing school – and He didn’t need to.
All that He outlined in this pivotal teaching is not a marketing pitch. It’s an understanding of what it takes to be desirous to live in the Kingdom. For all that, there is a recognition that the hearers might still be swayed to want to have the best of both worlds. There is the world they are used to full of the pursuit of material gain and necessities whilst parading a form of religiosity that has little connection with the Source. The world with all of its techniques and methods for success in life.
All of that was still present for those listening to Jesus. So Jesus makes it clear that they have a choice of two ways. To choose the way to life is hard exactly because it requires rejecting the way that was relatively easy.
When you consider the plethora of options that is open to those who follow alternatives to Jesus and consider Jesus’ standard of righteousness, no wonder He says it’s hard. The thought of doing things that are hard isn’t always going to appeal but the incentive is to what the result of the hard is. It’s the only way to life.
In what Jesus says as well, there’s even the clear indication that to walk this hard way is not going to be something that people find popular and are eager to get involved with. As opposed to the get-rich-quick schemes or find-happiness-now pitches of the self-help world which are bestsellers – the narrow way is not going to attract the masses.
Listening to Jesus put this across lays the same challenge to us today. It’s not popular. It’s not easy. It is the way to life – will we choose to look for it to enter?
(Photo by Marcus Loke on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 