Father, I thank You that there are not many gods I have to please, but only one God that loves me. I thank You that You provided a gate, however difficult, to get to You. Help me to live my life in that narrow gate. I want my life to testify to who You are and always be pointing the way for others to find You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Choose the Right Entrance 12So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. 13Enter 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. 14For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. —Matthew 7:12-14 I just spent my last week going through gates. The gates I went through were more like turnstiles. You know, like at airports and amusement parks? Most of the time, they are one-way. You go in and you don’t back out. Jesus tells us, “Enter by the narrow gate.”The Greek word used here is stenos meaning constricted or compressed or in this translation,narrow. Jesus is telling us in that the gate we need to walk through to enter into eternal life with Him in heaven is narrow. Jesus also says, “The way is hard that leads to life.” That statement should make us pause. Going through a narrow gate in itself is uncomfortable, and now He tells us the way will also be hard. Expect it. There is also a wide gate. Many will go through this gate because it is easy. It won’t require much of us. We won’t feel uncomfortable. We will always be accepted by others. All you need to do is say a prayer, admire Jesus, and say you believe in love. It’s lazy and lets you move along with the current. It’s what we do naturally. But what does Jesus say it leads to? Death. Eternal death. I think a lot of Christians think that trusting Jesus as their Savior makes life easy. Now that they have Christ, there will be nothing but smooth sailing. That’s not what Jesus tells us here. We will be constricted. We will need to believe things we cannot see. We will have to forgive those who hurt us, and be kind to those who really irritate us. We will have to say no to some things that others are free to do. We will be mocked, made fun of, and slandered. We will standout and be very different at times when we wish we could just blend in with the crowd. We may even lose our life. What do we get as Christians? Well, everything. Even through all the difficulties we will encounter we can live with joy and peace. We will have courage when others would cave in fear. And best of all, we have the promise from One that cannot lie. We have the hope of life eternal in His very presence. I would say that’s worth some discomfort. You have to choose: narrow or wide?—Trent Griffith