Not many find the way
‘Strait is the gate, and narrow
is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.’ Matthew 7:14
Let’s put it another way.
There is a very restricted entrance, a gate, that is tight to get through, and then there is a very narrow and troubled path, both of which lead to life;
and very few find it.
The way to life, the true life,
the life of eternity, is only discoverable by entering in through a gate. That
gate, someone has said, is the cross of Christ. You cannot go round it, climb
over it, dig beneath it. It stands at the crossroads of every life at different times and circumstances.
The cross says, ‘This is the way’:
choose life and not death.
It says, ‘I am the way, the
truth, and the life.
The church is not the gate,
neither the priest, pastor, nor pontiff. Mary is not the gateway, neither are
the idols or the sacrament. There is only one gate and only one way to be
saved. You have to come to the cross where Jesus made a way into heaven for
sinners and unrighteous people.
And it is not just enough to come
to the cross. We must come through the cross, for the cross puts to death our
old life and brings us to new life, even resurrection life.
And beyond the cross, their lies
a path, a narrow track that is somewhat troubled and at times uncomfortable. It
is no bed of roses, for it faces the opposite direction to the broad
carriageway that the billons of lost souls travel on to their dreadful destiny.
It is a path of trials, and even
tribulation, but the joy and thrill of walking that path with the Saviour of
the world makes all the troubles fade in the light and joy that is set ahead of
us.
Some people think that following Christ is for those who are weak and need a crutch to lean on. Actually, the opposite is true. To follow Christ is the greatest challenge and discipline that anyone
could ever engage in. It is not for the timid, the feeble, or the coward, but
for those who will take up their own cross, march into the storm, and never
look back.
It demands determination,
courage, perseverance, and passion. It is not for the half-hearted or the
sit-on-the-fence types. It is for those who have real faith, and the sense of a
noble and higher calling on their lives than the average ‘Joe’ knows anything
about. It is the path of those who know they are not of this world but are
citizens of another kingdom.
It is the path of those who will
earnestly contend for the truth, and who will go up to the frontline to wrestle
with demonic principalities and powers, with the evil rulers of the darkness of
this world, and with sinister spiritual wickedness in high places. This path is
for those who will stand in the gap between the dead, and the dying; between
coming judgment, and the hope and promise of mercy.
It is a path of joy unspeakable
and full of glory; a path of warfare, victory, and overcoming.
But few there are who find it, even within the church.
Pilgrim Warrior 2022
