The Narrow Road

of decisions beg our attention every day.

"In every action of life man in confronted with a choice; and he can never evade the choice."– William BarclayDecisions and choices are nothing new to those who follow after the ways of God. God allows us to decide what choices will be ours today, but He encourages us to choose His way.

Moses – choose life (Deut 30:19-20)Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NIV)
19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Joshua – choose this day who to serve (Josh 24:15)Joshua 24:15 (NIV)
15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Elijah – if God is Lord follow Him (1 Kings 18:21)1 Kings 18:21 (NIV)
21 Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing.
In our walk with God we sometimes need to be reminded of the direction, purpose, and passion of the walk, because we often stray from the beaten path that is laid before us.

Within our scripture text is yet another choice waiting our decision. "Enter" calls for a decision. Jesus the One who is alive asks us to choose the road called narrow, though we are free to choose the wide road.

Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)
16 This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ’We will not walk in it.’
Daily DecisionToo often the narrow and wide road is thought of in relating only to heaven and hell. Because one has chosen to confess and believe in Jesus we believe we no longer have to contend with the wide road.
The narrow road has always been a "now" decision. We must decide everyday what road we will walk down. Not for salvation, but for daily living. Remember it is about life not only for the future but for now!

Luke 9:23 (NIV)
23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Reflective Decision
Proverbs 27:19-20 (NIV)
19 As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man. 20 Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are the eyes of man.
The narrow road is reflected in the decisions we make. We must not separate the Christian life into the religious and secular. We must never disassociate ourselves from God to make decisions in the secular. Our decisions must be impacted by the truth discovered on the narrow road. Our decisions are made on the basis of which gate we want to enter. What makes the wide road so wide is because it fills up all the space not occupied by the narrow road. It is a road that you don’t have to think about to be on. It is a road that leads everywhere BUT life. That’s why it is the easy road. And