Strait and Narrow

Sometimes it is hard to cut ties with something you have been involved with for a long time. Whether it is a change of job, a change in location or a change in affiliations, change is hard. The Israelites in Exodus had a difficult time leaving Egypt despite the hard times they had there. Even as they were on their way, they questioned whether they were doing the right thing.

Strait doesn't mean straight!

In the the record labeled 'The Beatitudes', Jesus talks about a lot of very practical things about life. When I was thinking about the records of Exodus, a couple of verses popped into my mind and I dug in and found some gold.

Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

The gate can be strait (small) or wide and the way can be narrow (link-compressed, hemmed in) or broad (spacious). There are a couple of ways one can look at this verse: from the legal point of view or the love point of view, or both. From a purely legal point of view only it sounds hard, but when a person understands God as a loving Father it makes so much sense.

Yup, the gate is small and the the road it leads to can be pressed in, but the pressure is not from God.  Jesus Christ is the way, that was God's decision. The world is full of forces pressing in on human lives, just turn on the current news and see. Pressure starts the moment we get up and there is a broad spacious avenue that tantalizes us to deal with it in various ways. Life is not easy because of the pressure of evil that strives and vies for the dominion of the world. That doesn't change the fact that there is a gate to the way to life that the Father lovingly provides us with.

Sometimes those pressures make us feel like God is not around, that He is not real or that he doesn't love us. We should push back those thoughts. Making Jesus Christ Lord and believing that God got him out of death is the wall that holds back the pressure big or small. Jesus Christ was  and is God's plan. There's a lot that has been written, interpreted, theorized  and opined about him, but God is the ultimate authority on him. The gate is small and there is pressure on the way it leads to, but we are to trust God and therein we truly find life that is exceedingly abundant (John 10:10).

At the side a narrow driveway, brush and greenery needs to be constantly clipped back or it will overgrow the roadway or at the very least, scratch the side of your car.  Sometimes I just hate to cut back raspberry bushes, but it has to be done.  Sometimes in our spiritual lives we need to clip back the branches that grow into our path and move on ahead. When it was time for the exodus this was true for Moses and his crew.