The Battle

Words and actions must go together.

22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’

28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”-Luke13:22-30

The path to destruction and damnation is wide, but the path to salvation is narrow. The 'path to destruction and damnation' is wide because humankind can do whatever s/he wants. Here, a person can give in to temptations, delicious and favorite sins, pleasures of the flesh, dissolute, amoral and immoral living. Here, wrong is still good.

This path is so wide, so inviting and accessible. But the path to salvation is narrow. Why is that? As I reflected, the path leading to God is sometimes not only narrow but also difficult. Here, we try to be children of God - loving Him and our neighbors. But there are factors within us and outside of us that try to impede us from being children of God. These internal and external factors pull us into the path to destruction. Thus, we continuously battle external factors like the lures of the world (i.e. wealth), and internal factors like the desires of the flesh (i.e. gluttony) to stay in the right path. There is no easy way to get salvation. We cannot buy it, or make a reservation, or bid at it. It is a daily process. Yes, the 'narrow path' truly symbolizes the battle that we undergo through everyday as we embrace our true identity as children of God.

However, why is it that there are those who are rejected? In other accounts, they say, "Lord! Lord!" In this account, they say, "Sir, open the door for us." and claims connection and affiliation by saying, "We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets." The problem with these people is they acknowledge God and they know Him, but they do things that are contrary to God's ways.

There are those who say, "I truly regretted my infidelity, Lord." And yet they repeat it again and again. There are those who say, "I am religious. I will not steal nor do corrupt practices because they are in contrast with God's ways." And yet, they are the very ones who spearhead corruption. Jesus is encouraging us to make our words one with our actions. As in the letter of James5:12, "But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment."

Image courtesy: Krieg Barrie and various artists