The Wide And Narrow Door

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

 “Let’s Make a Deal” is a game show that has been watched by nations around the world for forty-eight years. The contestants make deals with the host, trying to win the best prize offered. Sometimes a contestant is shown three doors. He has no idea what is behind each door.  He must randomly chose a door and hope for a good prize.

Perhaps you feel like you are playing this game in life. Doors can represent beliefs, choices or even opportunities. Which choices are best? Which direction is right? Which door will lead to a life of satisfaction, joy and fulfillment?

In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus describes two kinds of doors (gates), which people enter on their quest for heaven, joy or meaning. There is a wide door-- the popular door. A person who travels through a wide door can take all his baggage with him. He can take his suitcase filled with his own views or the views of the world. He can take his ‘good’ works--those things he does that he believes will earn him a place in heaven. The door is wide, allowing each to carry with him what he deems best. Many choose this door.

Then there is the narrow door that few enter. It is a narrow door because it allows for no baggage. The person who enters must be stripped of all but one thing—faith in Jesus Christ. He must leave behind all his trust in himself, his trust in his own views and his trust in his own good deeds. When he enters through the door, he acknowledges that his trust is in Jesus--Jesus alone.

Which door is the right door to enter? Which door leads to heaven, to eternal life, to lasting joy, to true satisfaction and fulfillment? Jesus warns that the wide, popular door does not lead to heaven; it leads to destruction. The narrow door leads to life. Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father, except through Me (John 14:6).

Which door will you enter?

Jan Burkhart