21 August 2016 - the gate to life

[ Today's Readings ] 

We can only enter through the narrow gate when the master has it open.

After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
‘Lord, open the door for us.’

We have to not only come in response to the master's call. We must come when he calls us. If we hesitate we might find the door closed when we come. And so we can't be like those who are invited to the wedding with better things to do. We can't be like those who want to follow Jesus but have a list of things to do first. Imagine a climactic movie seen where the door is closing and there heroes race through, perhaps turning sideways to squeeze in at the last minute. The more we hesitate the narrower it becomes. But if we attempt it we can make it.

The gate is only as narrow as the person of Jesus Christ. We must come to him to be saved. Only by being conformed to him can we receive the holiness without which no one will see God (see Hebrews 12:14). If this is so then how does the gate seem to narrow? It narrows precisely as the time allotted for us to avail ourselves of it decreases. There is only this life and after it there is judgment (see Hebrews 9:27).

The urgency is that souls can be lost, our own or others, while hesitation keeps people from following Jesus. This is why we need to welcome the discipline of the LORD. Even though it seems a cause for pain rather than joy it is making us fit for the kingdom. It brings the fruit of righteousness. 

At the time,
all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,
yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who are trained by it.

If we receive it we are strengthened and made able to enter the narrow gate while it is still open.

The gate may be narrow but the LORD wants to gather nations of every language into his kingdom so that we can all see his glory together. In fact those who have never heard of the LORD have an advantage in that once they hear they are less likely to be complacent about it. They pursue it and share it with others. May we not be complacent either but instead proclaim that greatness of the gift we receive.

Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.