A Thought

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.  For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life; there are few who find it.”  Matthew 7:13-14

In the continuing Sermon on the Mount, John Wesley believed Jesus was telling His followers about what we now know as Christian ethics; that way of behavior the Church (that’s you and me!) is called and expected to answer.  The choices we make we usually make for the sake of expediency or in consideration of how we will be affected.  In many ways these are probably good choices. 

However, this passage is set within a much broader context.  Verse 12: “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you …”, and in vss 15-20 we are told about the “tree and its fruit”.  This latter passage is speaking of false prophets “who come in sheep’s clothing but … are ravenous wolves”.  It might be more in keeping with the “wide gate” through which the easier choices can be found that do not build up the church … that ignore those around us who are suffering through no fault of their own or who are being misled through a so-called “prosperity gospel” that has everything to do with material gain and little to do with the path Christ Himself followed.  Those who follow these false promises are being virtually eaten alive by these “ravenous wolves”. 

The Bible teaches us to “bear one another’s burdens”.  I think maybe this is a reflection of Jesus’ Sermon that expounds on the expectations of the Law which is far more than a list of “do’s and don’ts”.  It is how the people of the Lord are distinguished from the rest of the world.  It is how to tell the difference between those who believe … and those who don’t.

Everything we do matters because every action we take – or don’t take – and every word we speak is a testament to our choice of gate.  We must choose wisely which gate to pass through.  It is the one Jesus chose for Himself.

Blessings,

Michael