The narrow entrance and the difficult path

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Jesus Christ

Those who have persisted in reading this far may now find themselves reacting in one of three ways.

The angriest will be those who dismiss these things as religious mumbo-jumbo, irrational thinking or superstition! The God we have been speaking about does not force anyone to accept His authority, but if you are amongst those who react angrily at the suggestion that one day you will be held accountable for all your attitudes and actions, there is perhaps just one question you should think about. Can you be confident that your anger is not a cover-up for your persistent refusal to love the Creator as your conscience alerts you that you should? Do the words of Shakespeare’s Queen Gertrude, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” reflect your own assertions that God does not exist? If so, it is far more important right now that you give attention to settling these things than to reading any further.

There will be others who have had little or no response.. “So what?” you may be wondering. Even if some of what you have read has resonated with you, you still find yourself distanced from the reality of it. This illustrates what Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him”. We have already seen that The LORD’s will is for no-one to perish away from him, so why are so many people unmoved when they hear about Him? Israel was a nation for which He had done much. They were also a people who had promised many times to serve him with a whole heart. However, the reality was that the majority of them failed to take His words seriously and consequently tried to make the best of life whilst keeping Him at a safe distance - not too close, not too far away (the latter in case of emergencies). It was to people like this that He made a promise, “And you will seek Me and you will find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Our Maker provides each person with reminders of His existence throughout their lives. It is very easy to get into the habit of brushing these aside because rarely are they “in your face” statements. As a result of this, we can become very laid-back in our attitude to the spiritual aspect of life, caring little or nothing for it, concentrating on material things instead. To people in such a place, The LORD makes the same promise today as He did to those apathetic Israelites - He will speak to you, when you wholeheartedly search for Him.

Thirdly, it could be that all this has been making a lot of sense to you. If so, this is because the Holy Spirit has been speaking to you. As mentioned above, no one can sincerely turn to Jesus Christ unless God the Father draws them. He does this through the work of the Holy Spirit, revealing the Father and the Son to us. Together the Godhead know what is in your heart and mind and if they are speaking to you, then it is because they are responding to something within you which is seeking for the truth. This is good news, but it is not a guarantee that what lies ahead will be easy for you. In fact the words of Jesus quoted above are just one of several warnings He gave that following Him takes us along a route which is hard and remains as unattractive to the majority today as it was when He first spoke them. However, it is the very best road you could travel on - knowing God is far better than being isolated from Him! What follows is written in the hope of helping you to make a solid start in becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. On one occasion He described Himself as “the Way, the Truth, and the Life”. Early Christians were sometimes described as followers of “the Way”. It is this Way which leads to a life restored to friendship with The LORD our God. The Journey into New Life which lies ahead of you will require perseverance on your part, but you can be assured that as long as you leave your hand in Christ’s, He will hold on to you tightly and keep you safe at all times.

The following pages are written to help those who want to enter in through the narrow gate and take their initial steps along the way which leads to life in fellowship with their Creator God, life which will last forever.

Next: Talk to The LORD

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