Sunday 29th September
Read Matthew 7:13-14
“‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (NIVUK)
How do you picture the narrow gate Jesus describes? Do you picture it as a small, partly hidden alcove on a broad thoroughfare with people busily walking to and fro? Hidden in plain sight? Do you picture it as the end of a long walk that slowly narrows until you arrive at the gate? How about a small room with a single exit that widens out into massive amphitheatre?
How one pictures the gate in some ways reflects the way in which you believe people enter the Christian life. Is it a gradual drift towards the faith, slowly shedding the baggage of the world? Or perhaps a recognition of the need to repent, leaving behind that which you held on to previously so as to be able to enter the narrow gate before journeying into the ever-expanding joy of the kingdom. Jesus does consider repentance non-negotiable so perhaps at least one of those views is less likely.
How do you picture it?
