Enter by the narrow
gate….Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life….
—Matthew 7:13-14
“God saves people by His
sovereign grace through the atonement of Jesus, and “it is God who works in you
both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). But we have
to “work out” that salvation in our everyday, practical living (Philippians
2:12). If we will only start on the basis of His redemption to do what He
commands, then we will find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we
have not yet put into practice what God has placed within us. But a crisis will
reveal whether or not we have been putting it into practice. If we will obey
the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has placed within
us by His Spirit, then when a crisis does come we will find that our own
nature, as well as the grace of God, will stand by us.” CHAMBERS
I was walking along a trail in Haiti when I saw this
gate. Seeing it, I was reminded of the
verse about the narrow gate. Why is the
gate narrow? Because most people will not choose it. That choice requires faith and sacrifice. Not the sacrifice of things, although that
will happen, but the sacrifice of the will.
In Psalm 51, David said that God prefers obedience over sacrifice. But in
actuality obedience is a sacrifice as well. (Psalm 51:16-17) “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring
it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a
broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” David
knew about sacrifice. During a military
operation, David was thirsty and told his men he wanted a drink from a well near
the gate at Bethlehem that was in the enemies’ hands. (2
Samuel 23:14-17) Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite; Eleazar
son of Dodai the Ahohite; and Shammah
son of Agee the Hararite; three of the mighty men of David, risked their lives to get the water for him. And once
he had it, he poured it out on the ground.
That water had such great value, like the perfume poured out on Jesus feet,
it was offered to the Lord. Getting back
to the gate, most people will go the way of their father, Adam. They will choose the god of this world over
the God of heaven. They will choose to
drink the water and ask for more. Honoring
themselves and not God.
I taught a Sunday School class last Sunday and
used the word “binary” to describe the reality of salvation. Of course, binary means it is either zero or
one, on or off, yes or no. There are
only two possibilities (that’s the “bi” part).
You are either saved or you are not.
You are either going to heaven or you are going to hell for
eternity. You are either going through
the narrow gate or the wide gate. There
is no in-between. At its foundation, our
country did not embrace Christian values, the people did. Our country has not turned its back on God,
the people have. The country does not need
a Christian president, the people need Jesus. But
narrow is the gate. The people in this
country are going to pass through one of the gates. Our job is to be lights in a dark land. Shining our light on the narrow way. Living in obedience to the Word to the glory
of God. Lifting Jesus up. CHARLEY
No comments:
Post a Comment