The Narrow Gate
Though Jesus beckons the entire world, His invitation is also exclusive. Because all paths, all religions, and all good intentions do not lead to God.
Jesus isn’t implying that we can earn our own salvation by searching the hardest or climbing the highest or praying the longest to find some elusive gate. Instead, Jesus makes it clear in John 10:7, saying, “I am the gate…”
The way to the one true God, the Creator of this world and the Sustainer of your life, is through Jesus Christ—who loves you, gave His life for you, and was raised from the dead so that you could live.
You can’t earn His love or salvation, but you can accept His gift of grace and enter through the narrow gate.
Yes, it’s easier to scroll social media than to think about the deeper meaning of life. It’s easier to stay busy and distracted than to confess and repent of your sins. It’s easier to dismiss God altogether than to trust Him with your soul.
But the harder road is worth it. The narrow gate leads to life, and there is no other way than our Savior, Jesus Christ.
The Mission of God
All of our lives are spent on something.
Most people spend their days focused on growing a family, building a career, or amassing possessions. While none of those things are necessarily wrong, they can become distractions from our ultimate goal in life.
In the book of Acts, we see Paul’s transformation in Christ. As a result of meeting Jesus and being changed by His grace, Paul spends the rest of his life preaching the good news of Jesus.
For Paul, God’s grace and salvation were so great that nothing on this earth could compare to doing His work.
Paul said that nothing in his life mattered as much as telling others about God’s grace. His goal in life was to finish his own race well by faithfully accomplishing as much of the mission of God as possible:
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace."
Acts 20:24 NIV
The mission of ...