Any Destination

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”  Romans 5:1-5 NASB

One of the amazing results of persevering is growing in Christ-like character. It makes us a better person by pulling out the sin nature and cultivating Holy Spirit’s presence within, He is kind, humble, patient, and above all, puts Christ before all else. 

And by His amazing grace the Lord promises that if we will run the race with perseverance to the end, God will complete the good work He started in us whether it was all those years ago when we turned our hearts over to Him or today when we declare Jesus is the risen Saviour.

We won’t find perfection today, but one day we will pass to our forever home—which Christ is preparing—and it will be here that we will find completion. 

Matthew 7:13-14 NASB ““Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Notice here that Jesus is not saying, “I invite you to consider entering by the narrow gate” Instead, it is phrased as a direct command: “Enter by the narrow gate.” 

Jesus does not give us a sales pitch. He doesn’t even give us an invitation. Instead, He delivers an ultimatum. He tells us that we must respond to Him or we will be destroyed. We will repent, as He defines repentance, or we will perish.

There are two gates with two roads behind them, which way will you go?

Holy Spirit is telling us that it is impossible to be neutral about Jesus Christ. It is furthermore impossible to pick and choose which parts of Jesus we like and which ones we don’t.  We will either come to God on His terms or we won’t. 

There is a narrow gate and the path behind it is hard. This is the gate of commitment to Jesus with the path of discipleship behind it. That path is the path of persecution, like Jesus explained in Matthew 5:10-12 NASB “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

It is the path of the New Covenant, the path of taking your sin deathly seriously, repenting and refusing to live for the things of this world, the narrow gate is THE path that leads to eternal life. 

If we ignore the words of Jesus and do not enter by the narrow gate of His teaching, we will end up with the only other option that exists: the wide, broad gate with the easy road behind it. 

Sure there's plenty of room for everybody on that path. You'll have lots of fun on the wide path, you’ll have lots of company, and you might even make some great memories together. But we won’t like the destination of destruction that awaits.

So what’s it going to be for you? Are you going to be among the many who go through the wide gate and walk down the easy road to your own destruction?

Or will you heed the words of our Saviour, Jesus Christ and enter by the narrow gate of faith and commitment to Him, and walk up the hard path of at His side, knowing that your destination is your eternal life?

These are the only two ways available to us in life. There is no third option; there is no middle ground.