Navigation By Grace

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” 
Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV) 

“Recalculating,” your phone’s navigation system says as you make yet another wrong turn.  

Many of us hardly think about how we arrive anymore; we just follow the blue line. But God has a better way. He gives you a destination and lovingly walks alongside you with every step. 

In today’s verse, Jesus speaks about two ways to walk through life and uses the image of two gates to illustrate His point. Picture the first gate: wide like a football field, fast, and a 25-lane highway. No resistance, restrictions, or speed limits. You can do whatever you want on this road. 

But Jesus warns: Watch out, because when you take the wide, popular road with no guidelines or limits, you end up at a destination called destruction.  

So what is the “narrow” road that leads to life? The word for “narrow” in this verse is the Greek word stenos. The word represents constriction. It gives us the word “stenography,” what we could call “short-hand.” In other words, the narrow road means walking within God’s boundaries and commands.   

Jesus says this path is narrow, so let go of your excess baggage and enter empty-handed. Drop your pride, ego, commitment to your own will and way, your sexual preferences, and your desires. Jesus welcomes you as you are and promises to take you where you need to go.    

Then Jesus says, “Enter through the narrow gate” (Matthew 7:13a, NIV). Jesus does not issue commands without supplying grace and power to fulfill them. When you walk with Him on the narrow road, the Holy Spirit provides the destination, directions, and support to get and keep you there. And His coordinates always lead you to real and lasting life.   

The life Jesus offers begins now and lasts forever. It’s “eternal life.” You experience heaven now and receive entry into God’s presence in Heaven. When your life here expires, your permanent life continues in Him.  

Experience navigation by grace! Through His power, you can follow Him as His “narrow” road widens to encompass all of creation and eternity, welcoming you to experience life better than you can find it anywhere else.  

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. I praise You for walking with me; I’m never alone. When I doubt your faithfulness or pursue my own road instead of yours, lovingly correct me. Teach me your “narrow” ways, which I know are larger and more expansive than the universe. Welcome me into life that is truly life and teach me to follow You in my everyday experiences and relationships. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.