For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
~ from Galatians 5
Beloved, Scripture is clear that the way to the Kingdom is narrow. No (read: absolutely no possibility exists) for a way of our own making. But, if we are not careful – and if we let our fears run wild – we can begin to believe the the way Home is a like some sort of cosmic lottery.
But again, the same Word of God admonishes us to fear only One thing: Him. And, in fearing Him alone, all other fears subside, and we begin to find the wisdom required to understand the meaning of what Jesus meant by the word, “Narrow.” Narrow is not a physical dimension in this sense. No, in the Way Jesus spoke, narrow is actually Infinite. For, the size and shape of the door that Jesus describes, is He Himself.
Oh yes, there is only One Way. And He is The Way. Jesus, the very Son of God. God from God. Light from Light. True God from True (and infinite) God. Begotten, and not made.
And, while hard to see from our very limited perspective, what we thought was the very wide range of our behavior, was actually the narrowest part of the narrow way. We thought that – if we just stayed on the high-wire of good behavior – that we might be OK.
Rather, when we come to trust in Him, we find that the way is indeed narrow, but very different than we thought. It is not that we have some “long odds” of entering heaven. It is, rather, that we are the exclusive and particular prize of The Great Love Who has redeemed us, and set us free.
But now thus says the Lord, He Who created you, O Jacob, He Who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine…. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honoured, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.
~ from Isaiah 43
