The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 13:24,
"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to."
This is the response Jesus gave when asked the question, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" Jesus pointed to the many of his day, and of the many down through the ages who will try to enter into God's family, that is, to be saved, but will be unable to do so.
Oddly, there is a major theological tradition today that attempts to tell us that most people have no interest into the things of God. I find this to be something of a bizarre perspective because of the many religions, cults and -isms and so on that confidently claim to have a hold on the kingdom of God. Many seek the spiritual and many seek God. All the pollsters tell us that atheists comprise just a minority of the population of our country as most believe in some form of "higher being". We are never told in Scripture that man, in his depravity and fallen condition, has no interest in the things of God. While that may be true of many, what Scripture does tell us, as the Lord does here, is that many want to do things their own way. They will try to "enter" but be unable to do so.
Jesus tells us to make every effort to enter through the narrow door. God has laid a "stumbling stone" in man's path. That stumbling stone is Jesus Christ. Paul quotes Isaiah in Romans 9:30-33, "The Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." As it is written: 'See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'" In John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
The truth Jesus gave in this passage is that mankind, in his depravity and sinful rebellion determines he is going to do things his own way. Rejecting God's offer of forgiveness through faith to embrace the punishment Jesus took on himself for our sins, faith in him for many simply won't do. So many religions have hoops for folks to jump through with many rules and regulations to prove to God they are worthy of salvation.
You can put lipstick on a pig and in the end, you still have a pig (although cosmetically enhanced). Being a do-gooder will never get us into God's family as it only makes one a well-behaved sinner. Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way. He is the narrow door, the narrow way. Unfortunately most, in their rebellion and sin, want to do things in their own way. Many will try to enter and "will not be able to." As John tells us in John 1:12, "To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."
May we all make every effort to enter through the narrow door!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
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