“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

Question to ponder this morning, “Why did God make the gate to salvation narrow?” The quick answer is very simple, God didn’t make it that way – we did. You see the gate becomes narrow when we decide to earn our way through it. Jesus never said the gate was narrow by design, He simply stated a fact that the only way to salvation is through Himself [Jesus]. So the one and only way – through faith in Jesus – becomes narrow when compared to all the other philosophies that exist. In particular, Jesus was pointing this parable directly at the religious leaders of the time. They believed that they could earn their own way to salvation by overtly following the law. Worse yet, these leaders would often follow the laws that made them look more pious in public while their inner thoughts remained sinful. We also note that the “earning mentality” has a me-centered theme to it while the narrow gate is all about Jesus. The only way one can place themselves in the good person category is by first putting others in the bad person slot. Through this comparison we allow ourselves to say things like “well I never did what they did, so I’m doing pretty good.” But all of this internal debate is actually sidestepping the real issue. None of us can earn our way into the kingdom of heaven because none of us truly deserve to be face-to-face with God. Our sins, even the small ones, separate us from God’s design for us. All leading back to the simple truth and point of today’s parable. Jesus is the only way. We have heard people say, “Take the high road” but instead Jesus wants us to take the narrow road.