Life on the Narrow Road

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 people 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.

 

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

 

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. So, life on the narrow road means choosing carefully those who influence us; those who guide and counsel us. 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 lead them off the narrow path and toward destruction.

I wonder—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.

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 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 it means 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, are ours when we choose the small gate and the narrow road.

At this year’s 25^th Annual Weekend Getaway, April 19 – 21, we are going to talk about this life we were meant to live and how to find it again, if you’ve wandered far off. I’m so pleased that Kay Arthur will be our featured speaker at this landmark retreat. Kay is without a doubt one of the premiere Bible teachers today, and if you’ve never heard her in person, you are in for a blessing. I can hardly wait to hear her again, so I want to encourage you to join us for this really unique weekend getaway. 

We hold it at a Westin Hotel in the Chicago area, and women come from across the country to be a part of this weekend. The fellowship with other women is remarkable; we have a uniquely diverse group of women from all cultures and ages and stages of life. You’ll be blessed just to be with this group.

Every year women renew friendships they have made at our weekend getaway from years past. In fact, many close friendships have been formed during these weekends. I think of two of my friends who happened to meet at one of our getaway several years ago. They simply sat beside each other and struck up a conversation, which has led to a wonderful mentoring relationship—one of God’s divine appointments.

In addition, Damaris Carbaugh joins us again with her music, and she will again teach at one of our workshops. Last year her workshop was a huge blessing to many women. Her gift of teaching God’s Word and inspiring us to live by biblical principles is just as big as her musical gift. We have a truly outstanding program planned for you.

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Join us for the 25^th Annual Weekend Getaway – April 19-21, 2013. The Theme is:

The Life You Were Meant To Live.                                               

Don’t miss out! Register today at www.christianworkingwoman.org or call our office at 630-462-0552.