Jesus went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
Luke 13:22–30, ESV
At the time of Jesus, there were those that believed that their birth was a guarantee of salvation, namely the Jewish people. Though we are not saved by our works, but by our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus still reminds us of the difficulty of following Him as He calls us to follow a narrow path and enter through a narrow door. This is to remind us that it is not us who choose. We are chosen by Christ and the Holy Spirit, who reveals Him to us. When we feel the calling of our Lord and ignore it for a time, it is at our own risk. That is the danger of going astray and doing our own thing. We may believe in but not follow Jesus. Jesus doesn’t just call us to believe but to have faith. Not just any faith, however, but in Him as Lord and Savior. Faith is not a work but is shown through how you live your life and in whom you place all of your trust. A person can believe in Christ but place all of her trust in herself. This reality is true for every person. Our faith is not a faith of simple promises and obedience but of following the teachings and living in a way that honors them. Having faith is living it out because it is right. The narrow way of our faith is that we are meant to give all of ourselves and our lives in service to Him and the Gospel. There will be those who believe themselves to be righteous that will be found outside. There will be those left behind because they only believed but did not trust. There will be those that are left because they trusted more in themselves than in Jesus Christ. Let your life be a reflection of our Lord who saves us, and let His path be your path.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.