"Lord, will only a few people be saved?"
On the one hand we know that God himself desires "all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (see First Timothy 2:4), but on the other hand, "many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough". Why the apparent discrepancy? Jesus was himself the presence of God, guiding the willing in the way of salvation. In fact, he was himself the way (see John 14:6), and himself the gate (see John 10:9).
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.'
He will say to you in reply,
'I do not know where you are from.'
Jesus is the one who holds open the gate for our entrance. It is not enough to simply sit and observe this gate, to eat and drink in the sight of it, nor to merely hear described the directions that lead through it. We must actually move toward it in order to enter.
Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.
We must strive or struggle to enter, in the same way that Paul encouraged Timothy to fight the good fight (or striving or struggle) of faith (see First Timothy 6:12). This is a sort of fight that is not winnable by strength in the usual sense. We can't simply force our way in with will power, much less with our physical strength. It is rather the striving of faith to which we are called. This means believing what God tells us about ourselves and the world and living according to those beliefs. It means letting go of worldly priorities to the degree that they hinder our progress. Put another way, it means allowing God put to death the old sinful self that still lives and sometimes rises up within us. The old self with its stinking thinking and fleshly priorities will otherwise keep us away from the gate until it is closed, and once it is closed no amount of regret will be able to pry it open again.
Then he will say to you,
'I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!'
Rather than a call to heroic strength on our part, this is more a call to know the one who himself controls passage through the gate. If we ourselves are too weak, he is more than strong enough to make up for our deficiency. We are indeed called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (see Philippians 2:12) but we are reminded, that "it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy" (see Romans 9:16).
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last.
Those who will recline and dine in the Kingdom are those who made it a lifelong priority. When they fail or fall short they entrust themselves to the mercy of Jesus while the gate of mercy still remains open, knowing that as long as they don't give up on him he will guide them safely into his Kingdom.
Pursuing the gate to the Kingdom does not necessarily look dramatic. It might indeed result in a sanctity that is more hidden than visible, not an exciting subject for a movie, even going by the standards of movies about saints. One of the main things it most certainly will entail is a new and higher way of pursuing our existing relationships, one in which they are no longer closed in on themselves, but made expansive by being opened out toward God himself.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Honor your father and mother.
This is the first commandment with a promise,
that it may go well with you
and that you may have a long life on earth.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,
but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord.
Yet even in our most comfortable relationships we become aware of our need for mercy. Our selfishness and our pride prevent us from giving and receiving the full communication of love between children, wives and husbands, bosses and employees (to change the idiom for modern times) that is meant to define these relationships in Christ. May Jesus continue to guide us and to draw us to the gate of mercy, helping us to lay aside all that will not serve us, all that we cannot carry through, and teach us to treasure and to prize that which we can in fact bring, which is only our love.
The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
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