The Plumbline

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 ar...

If you have ever pondered some of the meaning behind the illustrations given in scripture, you probably are like the rest of us - wondering why Jesus or the disciples just couldn't come to the point and be all out forthright in what they said.  One such method of providing an illustration was through the method of comparing one thing to another - such as a narrow path against a wide path.  We all can see the reasonableness in this illustration - the wide path may look more inviting - but just because it is "well-traveled" doesn't make it the right path for us to follow.  The narrow path may hold the greatest scenery and the most awesome outcome!  Being savvy about these choices is what Jesus had in mind when he presents the comparison - knowing the way of the "crowd" may not be the easiest, but not always give us the greatest reward is important for us to grasp.  The comparing of the two is something designed to give us just a moment to consider where it is...