Have you ever considered the concept of the narrow path that Jesus speaks about? What does that path look like for you? Are you on it?
I saw this image in one of the devotional products I use during the time I spend with them. I gave it this title because I liked the idea of roped suspension bridge over a jungle. It reminded me of the way life is and why we do what we can to follow Jesus.
Jesus shows us the narrow path to our eventual goal which is eternity with the Father. Why should we consider eternity? Well, Jesus kind of made it clear and before Jesus came there were prophets that did.
I was reading in Ezekiel, mind you I didn’t grab my Bible and open up the pages to it, rather it came through looking up some touchpoints in the “Life Bible” app I have had for awhile. I like that app a good deal because of this exact thing. I get to see passages of the Bible I might otherwise have not seen.
"Son of man, give your people this message: The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins. [13] When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins. [14] And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right. [15] For instance, they might give back a debtor's security, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die. [16] None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live. Ezekiel 33:12-16 NLT
This one was another one of those that stopped me in my tracks. Why? It’s the part about a “righteous” person who has been going along doing the right things but then turns to sin. Imagine that, you have been so good for so long and then you turn to sin and you die. What happens next?
If you go with what the prophet said, all the good you did will not save you. Wait what? You mean to tell me I spent 90% of my life doing right, I have a fall from grace just before I die and God ignores that during the judgement? That doesn’t seem fair. Really God? Really?
As I spend a little more time in that chapter 33 it’s really about paying attention to the warnings we get in our life. What are those? Well, I know a few folks that can’t seem to stop being all about themselves no matter what anyone tells them. They are heading to a lonely end because I can also tell some of us are pulling back from those kind of people. It isn’t that people aren’t trying to help those people understand they just can’t seem to change.
I know someone so upset at another that they are staying far away. Far away from someone who really loves them no matter what. However, in this season of that persons life, their anger or whatever else it is, is causing them to refrain from engaging. I actually know many people in this situation. It’s sort of odd to me. Unfortunately, we all would be better off if we totally understood our days are numbered and this idea of putting things off to tomorrow is simply not such a good idea in several areas of our lives.
That said, in that chapter, we learn about paying attention to the warnings in our life. They could be on our health, our relationships, or how we related or don’t relate with God. Since my goal is centered and connected on God my advice is directed at that. However, I also think investing in those other areas of your life is worth doing as well. But for my mission I simply want to give whoever reads what I write the “warning” that you really do need to invest more with God and not less.
God is always there. He is constant and unchanging. He has provided us so much to help us get connected. His desire is to have us all connected to Him and to live in a more directed from God way. Not the kind of way where you compare to another. Directed, informed by the Bible, and guided by the Holy Spirit.
In Ezekiel, we learn that God really loves us all. He loves us so much that even a wicked person who is truly sorry seems to get a ticket into an eternity with God. But, this free will we have that can lead us to sin and hence draw us away from God is the very same free will we need to draw us toward God. Even the most righteous of us could indeed find ourselves on the wrong side of the score.
So what’s the moral here, for me it is to not take God for granted, to not lean into my past in anything, to be the best version of me in each day, to do what I can to not sin in any way and if I do to repent in the moment. To keep this idea of eternity in mind but not to the expense of enjoying the days God gives me.
While it is a narrow path, I think I have had my fair share of detours that I’d prefer to hang on to those ropes and take the ride with Jesus. How about you?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, you are so gracious with your patience and love for us all. While I cannot fully comprehend it and may at times wonder if it is just I am truly thankful you are the way you are. My humanness gets the better of me at times Father. Thank you for giving me Jesus to model the way to you. To set the path for me and to shine the light so I may follow Him. Thank you for the Holy Spirit who has always been there to do whatever it took to help me find my way back to the path and to pull me back when it seems I might fall off. Please keep me, my family, and my friends on the narrow path. I pray this in the name of Jesus my Savior and Lord. Amen.
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