Narrow Doors vs. Closed Doors

SCRIPTURE: Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ – Jesus, Luke 13:24-25 NIV

QUOTE: “Behind the headlines is a raging spiritual battle that can be confronted only by prayer and repentance followed by action in keeping with repentance. Only then can we hope to be a powerful voice in this nation. I am skeptical about our willingness to stand against the headwinds we face. We are so much a part of our culture that it might be difficult for us to know where to begin in our resolve to remain firm.” – Erwin Lutzer, Author, We Will Not Be Silenced, Pastor Emeritus, The Moody Church

THOUGHT: We hate the thought of being narrow, don’t we? To be accused of being narrow-minded is tantamount to being deformed somehow. To say that the door to real life is narrow is to edge along toward judgementalism or non-pluralism; to suggest not everyone will get in represents a betrayal of 21^st-century progress. But look, Jesus is the one what said the door is narrow. Are we going to cherry pick the words we love, and toss this hard saying out because we feel it’s not expansive enough for our enlightened culture?

Lutzer is concerned that the church may not be willing to stand against the headwinds we face, and I wonder too. Everyday I wonder if I have enough courage to hold on to what I have learned, so many times the hard way, and the God who has graciously taught me those lessons.

As you ponder your own readiness to embrace the narrow way, remember this: better a narrow door than a closed door. Jesus said that too.

PRAYER: Triune God, from the ash heap you bought me back, redeemed, poured life into brokenness and love into an abyss. Oh God, grant me the courage and love to speak, to write, to counsel, to pray unceasingly. Grant me the strength to walk the path you have called me to, even through the narrow door when narrow doesn’t suit me, and into the wide promises of the God of Eternity.