“Going Where Few Have Gone”
Matt. 7:13-14
My wife and I once had the privilege of hearing a speech by one of our American astronauts who had spent extended time living on the International Space Station. Between what he had to say and the videos he showed, it was fascinating. After all, it was a live report from one who has gone where few have gone. There was a part of me, albeit a small part, that longed to go there – there’s just something intriguing and exciting about a place where few have gone. A large part of me has that same longing every time I hear these words of Jesus: “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Jesus was saying that on this journey through life, few have gone the intriguing and exciting way that leads to true, full, abundant living. I want to challenge you this morning to heed Jesus’ call and go where few have gone.
Jesus, as always, points us in that direction as He gives us some RULES OF THE ROAD. Listen carefully because these rules are critical to your life’s journey. The first rule, Jesus said (vs. 13), is to “Enter through the narrow gate.” We are to ACCENTUATE DECISIONS. Jesus would, in fact, later identify Himself as the gate (Jn. 10:7, 9): “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep…I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Then later Jesus framed it a different way (John 14:6): “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In other words, WE MUST CHOOSE JESUS. Several decades later the author of the letter to the Hebrews (10:20) wrote that through His death on the cross Jesus opened a new and living way into the presence of God. Can it be any clearer? We must choose Jesus to experience true, eternal life!
Note, however, that the gate is small and narrow. It’s like going through a turnstile at a sporting event or at a subway station; only one person at a time can enter. There’s room for only one. Or think of it this way: there are many lights on airstrip at an airport. The pilot can approach the landing strip from any of the 360 degrees, but only one precise angle will provide for a safe landing. Similarly, Jesus is the only way to true life and you must choose Jesus by yourself. Just worshiping here will not lead to life. Participating in the life of the church will not lead to life. Knowing your way through the Bible will not lead to life. Knowing the Heidelberg Catechism, or the Apostle’s Creed will not lead to life. Serving will not lead to true, eternal life.
Only making a decision to choose Jesus will usher you into true life. No one else can make the decision for you; it’s up to you and you alone.
Some of you are thinking, “I’ve already chosen Him. So I’m all set.” Are you sure? Are you still choosing Him? What are you really living for? What controls you? What is your supreme desire? Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? It’s like updating your will. If you made it out when you first were married but then have children, you need to update it again. And once the children are all out of the house and living on their own, you must update it again. There will always be growth and change and therefore further decisions to be made. In the same way, WE MUST KEEP CHOOSING JESUS to stay on the road. We must live a life of strict discipline to stay on the road. It is not easy to be a Christian. As with anything worthwhile, there is a cost involved. In fact the word for “narrow” literally means “pressed”; so it’s a road on which we are pressed – a road of suffering, temptation, persecution, misunderstanding, derision.
And the only way to stay on the road is to stay within certain boundaries. A river in a channel is good and strong because it has boundaries. But with no boundaries a river is only a swamp. In fact, the only difference between a river and a swamp is boundaries! So the narrow way has many boundaries. Pilgrim’s Progress repeatedly portrays Christian walking on a very narrow path with danger on both sides. Listen to what Worldly Wiseman says to Christian: “There is not a more dangerous and troublesome way in the world…I judge from your appearance that you have already been in the Slough of Despond. And that slough is only the beginning of the sorrows that come to those who travel this road. Hear me, since I am older than you. You are likely to meet with pain, poverty, hunger, perils, dangers, lions, dragons, and even death, and you are sure to be weary and lonesome much of the time, trudging your way in darkness. This is most certainly true, having been confirmed by many who have gone this way.”
Think of it this way. It does not take long to get married but it takes many years to be married; it does not take long to sign mortgage papers but it takes many years to pay it off; it does not take long to make a commitment to Jesus Christ but it takes many years of daily choosing Jesus to reap the full benefits of the Christian life. So keep on choosing and following Jesus. No matter what your situation, choose – and keep choosing – Jesus. Are you doing so, no matter what?
The second rule of the road is that we are to ACCOMPLISH PARTINGS. I recall flying out to Washington DC some years ago to visit with one of our sons. I took the Metro from the airport to his office downtown. I discovered that in order to get through the turnstile at the Metro I had to let go of my luggage over the rail and then walk through the turnstile. It was so narrow that there was room for only me. Since Jesus is a narrow gate, WE MUST LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND. Otherwise we cannot enter. And once on the road, we must travel light or we are in danger of crashing along the way. It’s like flying a long distance in a hot air balloon. Eventually most everything gets thrown overboard in order to remain aloft. So the Christian journey requires us to part from anything that might slow us down or hinder us. Hebrews 12:1 exhorts us: “…let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus…”
Nothing that is valuable is achieved without effort. Fritz Kreisler, the famous violinist, testified to this point when he said, "Narrow is the road that leads to the life of a violinist. Hour after hour, day after day and week after week, for years, I lived with my violin. There were so many things that I wanted to do that I had to leave undone; there were so many places I wanted to go that I had to miss if I was to master the violin. The road that I traveled was a narrow road and the way was hard."
Similarly we strive to be rid of worldliness – we are to be different from the world. We are to be exceptional people! We are not to be or live like everybody else. We work at getting rid of our self-centeredness. Our needs and desires are not the most important element of our lives. We do not enter this Christian journey to make a great name for ourselves, or to be popular, or to gain influence. Rather Jesus said we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. We are to strip off any old habits that hinder our relationship with Jesus. Like Pilgrim, we need to break away from any other persons who threaten to turn us away from concentrating on Jesus. Jesus, after all, said, (Lk. 14:26-27): “"If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me.’” It’s a daily struggle. Years ago, the US Congress adopted a plan to put our country on the metric system, which is already used in much of the world. It is a more logical system, since it breaks down into multiples of ten. But it never caught on. As long as the old system was still visible, people relied on it, no matter how superior the metric system might be. As long as we carry with us, or keep visible, the things that hinder us on our journey, we will rely on them.
K. P. Yohannan, in his book Against the Wind, wrote “While others waste their time, you study and read. While others sleep, you get up and pray. While others feast and enjoy, you take days to fast. While others take it easy, you work hard. While others lose their tempers or speak casually, you guard your temperament, your heart and your mouth, disciplining yourself to be sober and not to respond with anger, hatred, or loose words. As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow…once said, ‘The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight. But they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.”
So we must accomplish some partings. I urge you to examine your life; do a personal inventory. What is keeping you from a fuller life with Jesus? Get rid of it.
The third rule of the road is to be prepared to ACCEPT LONELINESS. Jesus said that only a few enter the gate and journey down the road of life. Don’t wait for others to go with you. Just go. Those who do are not popular; others – even family and friends – will try to discourage you. At the very outset Christian had a discussion with his family and friends. They mocked him, called him names, and laughed at him. He finally left them all behind and began the journey with just one other.
The journey with Jesus is often personal and lonely as well. While we all begin with Jesus, THE ROAD IS DIFFERENT FOR EACH OF US. My journey is unlike yours; all our journeys are different. The struggles are different for each of us; the solutions are different for each of us. How did the old song put it? “You have to walk this lonesome valley, you have to walk it by yourself.” To a point, it is very true. We enter the journey alone, and in many respects we travel alone.
So here’s a suggestion: each day, WHEN YOU WAKE UP, REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE! Say to yourself; “I am a child of God. I am loved by Jesus. I will make every decision today in light of this knowledge. For nothing can separate me from his love.”
Somehow this blessed life doesn’t sound all that blessed, does it? It seems like a lot of hard work, a constant struggle. You’re right. It is not easy. Jesus never said it would be. The narrow road is not for wimps and wusses; it’s not for those who want to relax and take it easy. It’s for those who truly want to go where few have gone before. But consider the RICHES OF THE ROAD. To journey with Jesus means a life of blessedness – John 10:9-10 (GNT): “I am the gate. Those who come in by me will be saved; they will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness.” Here’s a glimpse of this fullness.
First, YOU WILL HAVE A NEW PEER. There is someone on the road who has walked before you. Wherever you are, He’s already been there. You meet Jesus when you first decide to choose Him. And He, as a good shepherd, will continue to walk before you, showing and clearing the way. He will be your light. You do not really walk this lonesome valley all by yourself! Even if you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you need fear no evil, for it is His light which makes death a shadow! So follow the light. For Jesus right now is preparing a place for you. Listen (John 14:1-3): “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
Second, on this narrow road YOU WILL BE A NEW PERSON. Your load will be lighter, your burden will be gone. But beyond that, as Paul wrote (2 Cor. 5: 17): “What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!” How exciting! You are not only a different person, but you are in process all the time – you are on your way to becoming like Jesus, always being transformed from one degree of glory to another! Peter wrote that even in the middle of trials and troubles you will be new and different (1 Pt. 1:7-9): “These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Thirdly, YOU WILL GAIN A NEW PERSPECTIVE. You will see no person and no circumstance from a human point of view. No matter what meets you on the road, you can see that you are destined for a glory which is indestructible. (2 Cor. 4:8 ff.): “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.” (2 Cor. 4:17-18); “For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.”
This is eternal life. Eternal life is not just something we enter into when we die; that’s just the frosting on the cake. Eternal life is now, being and doing and experiencing what God desires for us. ETERNAL LIFE IS LIVING WITH ALL THE RICHES OF CHRIST’S GRACE. As John wrote near the end of his Gospel (John 20:31); “But (this is) written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Now you can say to yourself each morning; “I am a child of God. I am a unique person; I am unlike any other person; and I belong to the family of God. Jesus has died for me. I no longer live in the kingdom of darkness but in the kingdom of light. I’m destined for heaven and am only passing through this world. Today I will be tempted; I will undergo trials; I will battle Satan; but I do not belong to him and these things do not control me. I know because I belong to Jesus – and He is in control! And He is for me because He loves me!” That will keep you on the road to blessedness.
But blessedness comes only by walking through the narrow gate and way. In Mark 10:17-27 a rich young ruler – who had it all and was highly revered – asked Jesus how he could obtain eternal life. “Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.” You cannot be neutral. That’s the way it is with Jesus – He never said to consider Him or admire Him; JESUS ALWAYS COMMANDS US TO CHOOSE HIM AND FOLLOW HIM – NOW! If you have never made the decision to follow Jesus on the journey of your life, now is the time to choose Jesus. If you have made the decision but are bogged down and ready to wander off the road, now is the time to choose Jesus. If you simply need to ask for strength for the way, now is the time to do so. Let us pray.
(1) ‘Pilgrim’s Progress in Today’s English, John Bunyan, retold by James H, Thomas, © 1964 by Moody Bible Institute of Chicago
(2) Fritz Kreisler, Illustrations from ChristianGlobe, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc.
(3) K. P. Yohannon, Against the Wind, GFA Books, © 2004 bu K. P. Yohannon
