Luke 13:23, 24 Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be
saved?" He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door,
because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
Years ago, a minister friend of mine donated some items of furniture to our
family. He was moving to another church, with a smaller manse, and thought that
we could use the extra pieces for our home.
One item was a beautiful walnut cabinet dresser, which had lots of drawers for
accessories and clothes. It was about seven feet tall and just as wide, made in
the good old days when furniture was sturdy, solid and hand-made. Our family was
delighted to receive such a handsome piece of furniture, but there was only one
problem. We couldn’t get it through the front door.
So I had to take it apart, piece by piece, shelf by shelf, drawer by drawer. It
took me almost two days to do that, and then I had to put it together again. As
usual, I ended up with more screws than I started out with, so somewhere along
the way, I had missed putting some in.
It didn’t fall apart and served us for many years at the top of the stair
landing. When we left Scotland to come to Tennessee, we had to leave it behind
because we would have to take it apart again.
Having faith in Jesus is what gets us through the narrow door into heaven. We
just can’t turn up and expect God to take us apart so that we will fit the
doorway to enter in to His Kingdom. If we have any "fitting" to go through, it
must be done on this threshold of life. If we don’t take the opportunity to
shape our lives according to Christ’s ways, then we lose the ability to get
through the narrow gate.
Heaven is not a given, no matter who we are or how highly we think of ourselves.
Jesus is the only way to salvation. Everything else is just wishful thinking.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You were very specific when You stated that the doorway to
heaven is narrow. We can only enter one at a time, and unless we are willing to
worship and glorify You alone, we place our souls in jeopardy. We don’t want to
be left outside, trying to get in. Help us and all our loved ones to recognize
how serious You are about reshaping our lives according to Your ways, instead of
attempting to accommodate our ways into God’s Kingdom. In Your Holy name, we
pray. Amen.
John Stuart TRAQAIR@aol.com
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