Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
Matthew 7:13 (NIV)
Jesus draws an unmistakable picture in Matthew 7: There are only two paths in this world.
One of the paths is crowded, attractive, and dangerously easy to join. He calls it the wide road. You can tell when you are tempted to do life on the wide road because it provides easy accessibility. It appears to offer a lot of comfort. There is little to no requirement for personal sacrifice. It feels good. It looks good. It is traveled by many people. And that’s the trap.
The wide road is not evil because it is fun; it is evil because it is deceptive. Don’t let the ease of the wide road lure you into a commitment to it. Ease feels like blessing. Popularity feels like affirmation. Comfort feels like confirmation. But Jesus is clear: Don’t forget where that path leads because it leads to destruction. That word in the original Greek points to loss; a stronger word is ruin.
The narrow road—following Jesus—often feels so isolating. It is not crowded. It is not popular. It does not offer applause or ease. Following Jesus comes with some difficulties, restrictions, and constrictions. But the narrow road leads somewhere the wide road never can: life. Eternal life, abundant life, true life, transformed life, kingdom life.
If it wasn’t for where it leads, I would be the first to stand and declare, “Give me that wide road, especially if it’s defined by an easy life.” The honesty of that admission shows how strong the temptation really is.
But here’s the truth: You can’t become all that Jesus intends for you to be by walking on that wide road. Ease cannot mature you. Comfort cannot strengthen you. Popularity cannot sanctify you.
So stop evaluating roads by how they feel, and start evaluating them by where they finish. The wide road ends in ruin. The narrow road ends in life. Child of God, resist the trap of the easy path. Don’t be seduced by the comfort of the crowd. Jesus is calling you to the way that shapes you, strengthens you, and leads you to life.
