Read
Matthew 7:13-21
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

Reflect
Well, this passage is a bit of a downer when one is trying to celebrate for 50 days….

A narrow gate? Destruction? Hard road? I thought this was supposed to be a feast! Where’s the Fabulous? Aren’t we finished with all that crucifixion stuff? I am sure this isn’t what I signed on for! I am looking for joy, for resurrection, for love. Perhaps that is on the other side of that gate…

So, how do we find the narrow gate? And, once we’ve found it, how do we get through it – how narrow is it really?

Here I have visions of one of those ‘tough mudder’ races where people do crazy things like cramming themselves under barbed wire or jumping over fire. Surely that’s not what the Gospel is asking of us, is it? That just sounds like a lot of insanity and training….

In many ways, that seems to be exactly what the Gospel demands of us. It requires us to choose the tough path, and in order to make that choice we must train for it. It does not, however, require that we race alone! Like the tough mudder races, we are a part of a team where we run the race together, and encourage each other to get up when we fall in the mud or to help each other over the very high wall, or to help to get through the very narrow gate.

Inevitably, however, each of us still has to jump the fire by ourselves. Each of us must take that leap of faith to find and walk our path; each of us must undertake our own training. We must train alone, but we are not alone!

The road may be hard, but when we walk in community, we are not alone. That is the Fabulous in this passage!

Respond
How are you training for your race? Are you surrounding yourself with those who challenge and inspire you to find the narrow gate and help your through it? Tweet out a #SaturdaySuperlative of the people who inspire you.