By Tyler Warner
Walking, in the New Testament, is a very common metaphor for living the Christian life, one that we still use today. By it, the authors mean that with every step we take, we are to be in obedience to God. There is not an inch of ground that we cover that is not done in the name of Jesus.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few”. The Christian life is a journey – really all of life is a journey. You move on down the road of life until you reach your ultimate destination, either Heaven or Hell. And to reach that Celestial City, like in Pilgrim’s Progress, you must take the hard road, the narrow way.
Narrow roads are not highways. Narrow roads are usually not well-traveled, sometimes they are not even paved under. Often they go through wilderness or wind up into the mountains. They are hard roads – and that’s the sort of road we travel as Christians. It’s a road of obedience, persecution and purification, and almost everybody who starts upon it will leave along the way.
What makes this road special is that it is the only true road. It might not have guardrails or streetlights, and it might be full of potholes and steep inclines, but it’s the only road that will get you there. Don’t ever be pressured by the fact that the majority of people do not believe in the Christian message. Jesus told us that this would be the case. The world is under the deception of sin, they are believing a lie. We are to be the ones who walk in the truth. As that old song says, “Though none go with me, still I will follow. No turning back”.
Brothers and sisters, the way of obedience to Christ is hard and lonely. In the beginning it’s easy, but there comes a point when it gets hard. Along the way there will be people who abandon you, situations that don’t pan out the way you hoped, and scrapes and bruises too numerous to count. This is exactly what Jesus taught us about the way of truth.
Why do we keep going? Because this is the only way to get there. This is the road that leads to life. Don’t stop, keep going – keep living as if the Word of God was true, because it is. And in the end you will enter into that narrow little gate into the heavenly city of God.
Tyler Warner is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Trussville. CCT meets on Sunday mornings at 9:30am, at 5239 Old Springville Rd. Listen to Tyler’s verse-by-verse Bible teaching at CalvaryChapelTrussville.com or Sundays at 8:30am on 101.1 FM.
