The Narrow Road

“Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” — Matthew 7:14

Nobody accidentally climbs a mountain.

You may accidentally wander into a grocery store. You may accidentally take the wrong exit. You might even accidentally end up sitting through a meeting you never intended to attend. But nobody wakes up on top of a mountain and says, “Well, how did I get here?”

Some places require a climb. Jesus says the same thing about following Him. There is a wide road, and there is a narrow road. The wide road is easy to find. Everybody seems to be traveling on it. The narrow road takes intention.

Jesus is not saying that we earn our salvation by working harder. Salvation is a gift. Jesus has already done the work we could never do. He carried the cross. He paid for our sin. He opened the door. But once Jesus saves us, He begins changing the way we live.

Grace is free, but following Jesus will cost us something.

Sometimes obedience means forgiving when we would rather stay angry. Sometimes it means telling the truth when a lie would be easier. Sometimes it means saying no to something everyone else says yes to. Sometimes it means getting up again after we have fallen.

That takes practice.

A runner does not prepare for a marathon by sitting on the couch and reading about running. A musician does not prepare for a concert by staring at the piano. And Christians do not prepare for difficult moments by merely knowing what Jesus said.

We practice following Him today so we are ready to follow Him tomorrow when the road gets narrow.

That is one reason God does not remove every difficult thing from our lives. Sometimes the hill in front of us is strengthening our legs. The struggle is teaching us to trust. Today's hard obedience prepares us for tomorrow's greater challenge.

Jesus never promised that His road would be easy. He promised that it would lead somewhere.

So keep walking. Keep trusting. Keep obeying. When you stumble, receive His grace and get back up. The road may be narrow. But it is wide enough for two. Jesus is walking it with you.

Have a great week!

-Pastor Corey