The Narrow Gate
Imagine you are in an old castle. After prowling around for a while, you find yourself in a large hall on an upper level. Near the corner, next to the outer wall is an open gate (a portcullis, really) which allows access to the parapet above. It is so narrow that one could genuinely wonder how a man in armour could possibly fit through. Maybe it was only for archers. You take a look the way up is cramped and steep. The stone stairway is worn and looks slippery. Moisture condenses on the huge stones and stays there as the only window is so high and narrow that sunlight never reaches the floor. It is dark and dreary and a you really can’t see much because at the eighth step is a landing and the passage continues to the right, so you really don’t know what lies ahead. You imagine what’s up there. If you’re an optimist, you think that eventually you’ll come upon a glorious view from the top of the wall. If you’re a pessimist, you think mostly of the possibility of slipping on the rocks, becoming adorned with spider webs (did I mention them before?), the possibility of bats, and other unpleasantness which would make even the most spectacular view not worth the effort.
You turn from this gate and continue your tour of the hall. Near the adjacent corner, next to the inner wall of the castle you find another gate. Through it you can see a wide ramp, big enough for a knight on horseback to access. It leads downward into a spacious sunlit courtyard. Light spills onto the ramp through a series of open arches on your right. It’s bright, lighting the dry cobblestones which pave the way. It’s airy and open and you can picture what it must have been like for nobility of old as they trod this same way which, then, would have been alive with soldiers, vendors, travelling monks and troubadours, and now, is peopled with tourists, buskers, and historical interpreters in period garb. It’s the kind of scene that you could imagine yourself in easily. You don’t have to think twice about whether you want to go this way to take in the sights and savour the experience.
Though the comparison is limited, when I picture myself facing these two options, I think of two other gates - gates that Jesus talked about in His famous sermon-on-the-mount. Matthew records Jesus admonishing His listeners to “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)
Clearly the narrow way is the one which offers the greater reward, yet Jesus says that “only a few find it.” I’ve been thinking about why that might be. Presumably, we all share the drive to live. Why would only a few find and take the way that “leads to life?” You’d think we’d all be clamouring at that narrow gate, jostling for position, doing our best to make sure that we don’t miss it. But that’s not the case. Why?
Perhaps it is because at first glance it is not very appealing. What you can see of the way looks more challenging than enjoyable. And it lacks the pull of peer pressure. There are not many others heading this way, it makes me wonder if I should bother if no one else is.
Or maybe the sounds of the festivities on the other road distract our attention so that we never give the narrow way serious consideration. There are few things as attractive as the sound and sight of people having fun. We are drawn to join them in the hope that their happiness will rub off on us and we, too, will be able to enjoy ourselves more than we do now.
It could be that the allure of the downward way makes us ignore the Guide pointing to the narrow way and explaining its significance and the rewards associated with going that way. The still small convicting voice of the Spirit is easily drowned out, especially when we don’t really appreciate what He is saying to us.
Jesus doesn’t tell us exactly why the downward way is so easy to follow, while few even find, let alone choose to follow, the upward way. But He makes it clear that the broad way leads to destruction, while the narrow way leads to life. For Jesus, that way was stained with His own blood as He died to open the door for others. He, alone, was capable of doing that. How sad that in spite of His great personal sacrifice to make access to the way to life possible, only a few choose to follow it.
Ron Hughes
© July 2007
