W-1625

Do you relish being different from your peers, your coworkers, your friends, and family? I think it’s safe to say that most of us definitely do not want to be the odd person out—the one who looks or acts or dresses differently from others or from what is considered acceptable. We seem to be born with this need to fit in and be a part of the crowd. I know it’s true of me. I want to fit in. But one of the truths of the Christian life is that we are called to swim upstream, as it were; to walk a different road from what most people walk. We are called to life on a narrow road—it is narrow, and yet it is the road that leads to life, as Jesus put it. So, we shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that the wide road is right because it looks easier.

Jesus said: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). He tells us right up front that when we choose the road that leads to life, we will be part of the minority, not one of the crowd. Of course, no one intentionally chooses the road that leads to destruction, but then again, most of us don’t want to choose the narrow road or enter through the small gate because it looks hard and the broad road just looks more inviting to our human eyes.

The choice that Jesus presents to us is to choose life by choosing the narrow road, or to choose destruction by choosing the broad road. The life you and I were meant to live is found on that narrow road, through that small gate. That means that as a Christ-follower, I’m going to appear out of step with my culture quite often; if I’m serious about being a disciple of Jesus Christ, then I must accept the reality that I’m on the narrow road, the road which only a few find, so Jesus told us.

In Psalm 1 we learn more about life on this narrow road:

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff 
that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

First, we see that we are blessed when we do not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers. Blessing comes on the narrow road, not on the broad one. And this Psalm reminds us that when you choose the broad road, you are walking in step with people who will influence you and cause you to make very poor choices. Life on the narrow road means choosing carefully those who influence you; those who guide and counsel you. For us parents, we know how important it is for our children to choose the right friends. We see how easily our children are influenced by their peers, and therefore, the wrong peer group can daily lead them off the narrow path and toward destruction.

Are you currently walking down the broad road that leads to destruction? Have you wandered away from God and the narrow road? If so, most likely it is because you have chosen some wrong companions, listened to some wrong counsel, and you’ve wanted to be a part of the big crowd on the broad road. But here’s the thing—that road leads to destruction.

This Psalm also tells us that the narrow road to life leads us to be like a tree planted by streams of water; a tree that yields its fruit in season and has evergreen leaves. It tells us that when we walk in step with Jesus on the narrow road, whatever we do prospers—it matters for eternity. We have purpose and hope and endurance on this narrow road with Jesus.

The wonderful good news is that it’s never too late to get back on track with Jesus—to rediscover the life you were meant to live. He is the Master of restoration and new starts. I know because that’s my story. I left the narrow road and wandered far off for a long ten-year period. That broad road that everyone else was on looked so good to me. I was deceived by the broad road. I honestly thought that to go God’s way would lead to a dreary life—it would not take me where I wanted to go. In retrospect, I recognize my arrogance—to think that I could run my life better than God could.

Now, I didn’t actually think that thought, and no doubt I would have denied it had someone pointed it out to me at the time. But the truth is, I wanted control of my life because I thought my plan for my life was the only way I would find happiness. It was all about me—and let me tell you, the years I spent on that broad road that looked so good were, for the most part, miserable.

I shake my head now as I see how foolish I was to waste all those years on that broad road, because I can tell you that it did not deliver what it promised. The Devil never does, you know. He makes sin look attractive and then once we’re snared, he lays all kinds of guilt and misery on us! He is a master liar and we are prone to believe that his lies about the broad road are true. After all, most everyone you know is on that broad road, so the majority must be right!

Well, if you’ve spent any time on that broad road, you’ve learned that it leads to destruction, just like Jesus said it would. It took me far too long to figure that out. But because of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, he has redeemed my life and put me back on the narrow road which leads to life, as Jesus told us. That’s the life we were meant to live as followers of Christ.

Some people look at that verse from Matthew 7, and they think that choosing to be a Christ-follower means you have to live a very restricted, legalistic life with lots of do’s and don’ts, lots of rules and regulations, and a life that is just no fun. But that is not what Jesus said about the narrow road. He said that while not many choose the narrow road, the fact is that the narrow road leads to life. Jesus said he came to give us abundant life, not to throw cold water on our parades or lead us to a dull existence.

True, we live by different standards when we’re on that narrow road; we live according to the righteous principles of God’s Word, and while they may look narrow, they are life-giving. They save us from so much pain and shame. The instant gratification of the broad road very quickly loses its glitter and charm and becomes the road to regret.

You know, it almost sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Jesus said to choose the narrow road not the broad one, because the narrow one leads to life, and yet to our way of thinking, it just doesn’t sound right. How could the more difficult road, the more out-of-step road, be the right one?

This seems backwards to our minds. Shouldn’t the road to life be broad and easy; one that the majority of people choose? Well, as is so often the case, we keep thinking that God operates like we do, but the truth is that his ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. So, as convoluted as it may seem to us, the truth is that real abundant life, full of meaning and joy, is ours when we choose the small gate and the narrow road.

So, an honest question is “What is life like on the narrow road?” Well, it’s a road of discipline, and this discipline has to come from an honest motivation within us that we really want to grow more and more like Jesus. I hope you’ve learned the secret—and it’s really not a secret—that a disciplined life is a fruitful and fulfilling life. That’s how we become that tree planted by the water that brings forth fruit.

I’ll confess that I am not a naturally well-disciplined person. I’ve had to learn how to impose discipline in my life, and I mean on a daily basis, I truly have to make myself do what I know I need to do. But I love the fruit of a disciplined life, so I’ve developed disciplines that bring forth that good fruit. And here’s the good news: the more you develop the disciplines required on the narrow road, the more motivated you will be to keep them going because you’ll love the difference it makes in your life.

Life on the narrow road is also one of love. Honestly, I feel like I’m in kindergarten when it comes to learning what loving others as I love myself really means. Jesus told us that two things are important: loving God and loving people. So the narrow road is one where we are continually growing and learning how to love others the way we should. Recently I was in a seminar where we talked about relational love—what does God’s love look like in the way we relate to the people in our lives? And I realized again that I have so much to learn about loving other people the way Jesus loves. But that kind of loving leads to life—on that narrow road.

Life on the narrow road is living out what Jesus said: “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25). This is not a popular message, is it? This doesn’t “tickle our ears,” does it? But the truth is that the narrow road is about dying to our own selfish, self-centered lifestyle, and changing the “it’s all about me” attitude to “it’s all about Jesus.” On the narrow road, it’s all about Jesus—loving him, serving him, giving him control, and obeying his commands. And that’s the road that leads to life.