Entering In

Jesus said "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

the gate is always open

My understanding of that scripture has changed in recent years.  It used to say to me - it is hard to live a Christian life.  There are many things you cannot do or have, but it is worth the deprivation because you will get to real life in heaven.  I see it differently now that I understand the gospel better. 
 

It is the way leading to life in Jesus Christ that is narrow because there are so many obstacles to believing.  Jesus also said that "...it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God". (Matthew 19:24 NIV) But in verse 26 he also said "...With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible".

We're all like the rich man, maybe not in money, but in some form of self-sufficiency.  Maybe our intellectual pride prohibits believing, or we feel our shame rules us out.  Perhaps success is covering the sense of need for a Savior.

I started out going to church with my mom and brother and sister, but my dad didn't go.  After high school I stopped because it didn't seem relevant to me anymore.  It wasn't until I was over 30 and being divorced that I finally fell to my knees.  I wasn't looking for Jesus. I was really looking for a way to make life work better for me.  But God knew me, and at just the right vulnerable moment He orchestrated that I would hear with my heart about His love for me.
  

If this were a fairy tale I would say "and I went on to live happily ever after".  It wasn't like that, of course, but I came upon that true way in Jesus Christ and I chose to enter in.  I put my hope in him and began a new journey and a new life.  That has made all the difference.

 

I have a destination and Someone who is seeing to it that I arrive.