Difficult Roads Lead to Out-of-this-World Destinations // Matthew 7:13-14

Today’s verse comes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Let’s read the passage in its entirety, shall we? “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it” (NLT). This teaching can be hard, can’t it? We know we have a loving God who longs for us all to be saved. Unfortunately, we conflate that with the thinking that there won’t be any penalties for wayward living…as though we can go to heaven merely by being a good person. We try and rationalize this with the question, “If God is a good and loving God, why would He send anyone to hell?” In some cases God doesn’t send people to hell as much as honoring their wish. This gets down to the road we choose to travel in life. The problem we ultimately find in hoping that being a good person is enough to grant salvation is the standard by which we judge. Good, as in being a good person, compared to whom? If the standard is someone like Adolf Hitler, we might be ok. I get a little antsy thinking that the standard might be Mother Teresa. See, the issue is we establish the standards ourselves when God clearly states that Jesus’ holy perfection is the standard. Don’t let that cause you to fear you have no hope, because the beauty of salvation is found in how Jesus covers our imperfection with His perfection. Consider Romans 3:24, “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” Jesus’ perfection makes you right with God when you accept it. Don’t let that tempt you, though, to hop back on the wide-open path of destruction; no, follow Jesus to and through the narrow gate. Yes, it is a difficult road, but the destination is out of this world!