Behind the gate

You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

I live in an area where we have fenced yards. Block fences are most common, averaging about six feet tall. Gates vary, though. Some are about three feet wide, allowing us to get our trash cans in and out with ease. Others have what we commonly refer to as RV gates. Those wider gates are awesome if you have ATVs, flatbed trailers, pop-up campers, and the like. I have even seen some take extra cars into the backyard through those gates. Some open outward, inward, and even slide along a track along the fence line. In life, we are faced with various kind of 'entrances'. Some are wider than others. Many require us to open them ourselves, while others are 'auto opening' with some magic 'seeing eye' that senses we are near the entrance. Some will be easy to pass through, others a little more challenging. In God's kingdom, the 'gate' is narrow, but it opens to us whenever we ask!

Gates serve to protect what is behind them, but they also serve to keep out what doesn't belong beyond those gates. No one finds God's gate on their own, though. They must be led to it, realize it is welcoming them to step inside its protection, and they enjoy what is beyond them. Our relationship with Jesus requires us to desire what is beyond the gate. As a kid, we used to play in forts that we'd made from some form of 'fort building materials'. We usually had a 'door' of some kind, requiring those who wanted to 'pass through' to shout the words, "Open Sesame". As they shouted that 'magical phrase', the meaning was 'let me in'. All Jesus asks of those who desire to be inside of his gates of protection and love is to ask to be let in. He leads us right up to the gate, but the desire to enter in must come from within each of us. We must declare a heartfelt, "Open Sesame", then enter in.

The gateway to life is narrow. It isn't for us to park all of our treasures and trash behind those walls. Jesus may ask us to rid ourselves of those things, leaving them outside of that gate because they no longer belong as part of our life in him. We may want to bring them right along, but don't be surprised when he shows us that 'RV Sized Load of Resentment' we have been nursing doesn't 'fit' inside that gate. If we want to enter in, we do so by letting go of all the 'stuff' in life that has kept us so focused on 'protecting' it behind the gates of our heart. Maybe the gate is narrow because he knows we don't need all that 'clutter' in our lives. It would interfere with our focus, eat at our emotions, distract our thoughts, and damage our bodies. If God asks us to let go of our hurts, habits, and hangups, he isn't denying us access - he is ensuring we will enjoy it once we are 'behind the gate'. Just sayin!