“The Narrow and Wide Gates”
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.
Ever drive down a one way street the wrong way? At first, you might get upset because you think the car in front of you is off his lane and coming at you. Then he has the nerve to honk his horn at you! That's when you suddenly realize you are the one who is wrong. You feel that rush of embarrassment and you quickly turn around and hope nobody else saw your mishap.
I painted that picture to provide contrast on this verse. I don't think Jesus is talking about us mistakenly wandering into a one way street the wrong way. The wide gates are those highways that seem to go in the right direction. They have billboards, they have large and long access ramps with arrows pointing the the way. They have four lanes, even wide enough to fit large busses! You can set the cruise control as you join the traffic. It seems that everyone is headed that way.
Then there is the small country road, the one which leads to a wonderful pasture. It's narrow and has plenty of potholes. The ride can be rough and you sometimes wonder why you drove through the narrow gate.
You may even contemplate on the four lane highway and how it is nicely paved. You think of how you could pull over at one of those rest stops where you can feed yourself and find all the comfort and needs of life on the road.
Yet, you just know you are on the right road, the one that started at the narrow gate and you are so happy that you found it!
Picture Credit: © 2007 D L Ennis - Visual Thoughts http://dlennis.wordpress.com/
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