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...

You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. (Ephesians 2:19-21) Together - no longer living independently - we are his house. In close companionship with each other; without interruption within the relationship we enjoy as a result of being 'in Christ Jesus'. We might forget how Christ has joined us together with himself. More importantly, we may overlook how he has broken walls of differences that should not matter any longer. He has put us on an 'even playing field' by his grace and we are to live in unity with one another as a result.  We are 'carefully joined together in him'. Don't overlook those words. Those individuals who Christ asks us to live in 'community' with are actually 'joined together' with us because Jesus knew we'd actually l...