Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. – Matthew 7:13
In 1860, the Milton Bradley Company came out with a board game called the Game of Life. A modern version was released in 1960 by Hasbro. In small plastic automobiles, players travel a roadway acquiring income, but they have expenses as well. New versions of the game are regularly released and now feature landing spaces that include being faced with lawsuits or acquiring pets. The game has a strong element of chance, but also includes risk and reward. Hasbro says, “From Start to Retirement, every Stop! space is a major life milestone where players spin for their fate or choose their path forward.” Players face many crossroads and decisions along the way.
Real life is not played like a game, but there are many crossroads faced and decisions to be made. The people of Jesus’ day were very familiar with walled cities and city gates. An article in Mugwump published by students at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville says, “Christianity is not a both/and but an either/or proposition. Jesus leaves no room for a middle ground or for being what I would refer to as a ‘spiritual mugwump.‘” Each person reaches the crossroads, the time of decision, to go through the narrow gate or take the wide road. Indecision can lead to following the world. Choose to follow Jesus who is the only Way. He is the narrow gate, and only those who enter by Him will be saved (John 10:9).
A poem by Robert Frost says, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood… and I took the one less traveled by.” King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Psalm 1:6 reads, “The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” The verse that follows today’s verse states, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” You have the option. Choose life. Choose Jesus.
Today’s Verse: Matthew 7:13
3 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Psalm 37:3-7, 23-29, 39-40
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord upholds his hand. I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children begging for bread.
26 He is ever lending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
27 Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you dwell forever.
28 For the Lord loves justice;
he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land
and dwell upon it forever.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
