The Straight and Narrow

The Straight and Narrow

 Amber Leggette-Aldrich

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (Matthew 7:13-16 KJV)

Sometimes I make mistakes, or fall down, as I am walking on the path of Jesus. Those are the times when I am tempted by the ways of the world to sin. If I am not careful to pay attention to where I put my feet, I stumble and fall. There have been times when it seemed easier to give in to the temptations, to walk in the ways of sin.

A thought that came to mind was an analogy of walking a tight rope. While it is true that walking on a rope may not be an easy task, it is much better than the alternative of falling off to your death! God’s path is like that tight rope, it is straight and narrow and may not be easy to walk on. But it leads us to Him and His Kingdom. The ground beneath the tight rope is much wider and appears easier to walk on. But it leads us to eternal hell, and all too often it is marked with a sign that says, “Heaven”.

Sadly, there will be many who blindly follow that wider path right into hell. The bible tells us to “beware false prophets”. They will appear harmless, even good and righteous. But they will be full of misleading lies! They may intend in their hearts to do good, but if they do not know the truth themselves, how can they teach it? Many will unknowingly follow them to hell. We must remember what the bible says about testing the truth, to see for ourselves if what we are being told is really what God’s word says. That is why it is so important to read and understand God’s word, and to have our own personal relationship with Him through prayer.

There will be more people who will intentionally lead other people astray from God’s path. The bible warns us of “ravening wolves”, evil hearts consumed by satan to lead others to be devoured and destroyed. They will use tools such as fear and pain. They will outright lie and use trickery. Such things as using “science” to explain how the possibility of God cannot exist, and that everything can be explained and recreated by humans with science and technology, will create doubt and confusion. Appealing to man’s innate pride and lust for pleasures will be another effective device used to disillusion many, by means of empty promises of power, wealth and personal gain. Phrases like, “You gotta take care of yourself because no one else will” or “it won’t hurt anyone, nobody cares” or “everyone lies sometimes”, will cause calloused hearts that will not receive God’s word.

And still more souls will be lost, being consumed by the things of this world, things that do not appear as harmful at all. In themselves, these things may not be harmful or sinful. But they can end up consuming our minds, then our hearts and souls. Anything that we spend more time and energy on than God, becomes a god to us. It can be food, clothing, money, TV, video games, other people, work, anything we think about more than we think about God! In our busy world, with so much “in your face reality”, it is quite scary to think about, but we’ve got to ask ourselves, honestly, is our heart and mind more focused on loving and serving God than anything else in our life? (But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33 KJV)

In some ways it may seem difficult to follow God’s path, the straight and narrow one. But when our hearts are truly open to His guidance, it is much easier than it may appear. With His help to guide us along the way, the truth of His Word and His promise to never leave us or forsake us, it gives us a renewed hope and spirit to continue walking in His ways. When we keep our hearts and minds focused on Jesus, instead of ourselves, day by day it becomes a way of life to us and it creates a deep sense of joy in us.

The ability to follow the path of Jesus comes directly from His Holy Spirit living inside of us and giving us His strength to do it. This is why it is so important to repent, and be baptized, to have our sins washed away. The Holy Spirit will not live inside an unclean, sinful heart. But once we are made clean for Him, then if we open the doors of our heart to Him, He will enter and live there. His Spirit will lead us and show us the way. God’s ways are good and righteous, and the blessings that come from staying on His straight and narrow path are too many to be numbered. Most important of all, His path leads us home where He is waiting for us.

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