Narrow is the Road

"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."  Matthew 7:13-14

Life is hard friends.  At least mine is.  And then I read a verse like this in my Bible and God gives me a hug.  It is supposed to be hard.  If it's not, I believe you are on the WRONG path.

I have been in hard places of my own creation.  Sometimes I still find myself there.  When I was a teenager I made bad choices, choices that went against all that I knew in my soul.  It was hard in many ways - and I will be honest, in some ways it felt like fun.  But, one thing it never ever brought was peace or joy.  Never.  If you are honest, you know the difference.

Today I still put myself in bad situations because of the sin that remains in my life.  I snap at my kids or my husband, I don't show my husband the respect he deserves or I am not patient with my kids.  Those emotions and reactions create conflict in our family and make life uncomfortable until reconciliation is sought and found.

But, why is life so hard when you do not live in places of destruction?  Why is life so hard when God's will is all you are truly after?  Well, the short and very trite answer is sin.  Mine, other's around me, sin throughout the ages that has festered into infected wounds that will never ever truly heal this side of the glorious day when Jesus sets His holy and beautiful feet upon the earth and all of creation worships.  Scripture tells us that all of creation groans for release from the power of death.  I can believe that - because I groan for release from sin's iron hard grip.  I can not wait for the day He returns - I long for it like no longing I ever thought I was capable of.

Without getting into a post about doctrine, let me say that I believe with all of my heart that God is the sovereign Lord of the universe that He created.  He created everything in it with the potential for great good.  But, He did not want a puppet world, where He sat on high and pulled the holy strings and watched things move.  That is fun for little kids with a new toy - but as adults we know that is not real life.  The dolls in our dollhouse do not love us, no matter how much we make their painted on mouths speak words of love.  They are not capable of it.  And neither would we be if God had created us that way (which He could have).  But, in order to make a creature with the capability of real love and real goodness, the capability of real hate and real badness is also there.  It wars within us all.  The Bible calls satan an "angel of light" and so he was.  With the capability inside of him for both good and evil.  He went the way that we are all tempted to go - the way of pride and self importance.  He wanted to be God - and so he took us with him.  And creation groans.

And life is hard.

As we walk this hard path of life, we encounter things that are not congruent with what we know to be the heart of God.  If you haven't encountered these things, then you are not looking for them.  Many people are not looking - after all, the road to destruction is wide and it is comfortable and easy and pretty and clean.  It is the American Dream - it is what we "deserve" right?

 I believe that God leaves His children here on earth after their justification in order to sanctify us and in order that we may be His hands and feet to a lost and dying world.  And friends, this world is LOST and it is DYING.  And some of the ones being sucked along the path of death and destruction are too little or too weak to fight the wave that pushes them along.  And once you look into their eyes - once you see what no hope looks like, at that moment, your life becomes HARD.

Your life is forever divided and your heart hurts.  My heart hurts all the time, and sometimes it hurts more than others.  Right now is a particularly hard time for us - God is moving in our family and when He moves, things get harder.  The enemy seems to sense the movement, even though I know he is not all knowing - but I guess we all give him just enough of a foothold to sense it.  When God does big things, the enemy tries to thwart the mission.  He can't succeed, he is defeated.  But, my guess is that ticks him off!  So - our family covets your prayers - God is doing a new thing.  And it promises to take us WAY out of our comfort zone.  WAY out.

I have a missionary friend who loves to hashtag on her Instagram #giveGodyourdirtyyes  -- Friends, I can assure you that there is nothing good in me that God should want to use.  I am fully aware that most every good thing I try to do is coated with the dirty stench of who I am.  I struggle every single day to believe Isaiah 44:20 which says, "Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?"  If you have ever struggled with "buying" the lie - you are not alone.  I buy it every single second that I am not in full, conscious connection with the Vine.  It isn't true, it is a lie - but I buy it still.  So - I gave God my dirty yes - and friends, it has been exactly one week since I uttered those exact words.

And He is cashing in.  Stay tuned......