8 The Lord is good and does what is right;
….he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
9 He leads the humble in doing right,
….teaching them his way.
10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness
….all who keep his covenant and obey his demands. Psalm 25:8-10 NLT
I am so grateful for promises such as these!
Luke 13:23-30 (<<click here to read the passage)
In our world, there are many places where one must meet prerequisites to be able to enter. Some places one must have a ticket in hand – movie theaters, amusement parks, concerts, museums, etc. Some places one must pay a fee – golf clubs, campgrounds, and so forth. Some places one must meet certain requirements to get in – places of higher education, Mensa (anyone with an IQ in the top 2% of the population can join!)
What if I told you that I know of a great place that, anyone who desires to, can get into? No tickets are required. There is a fee, but it’s been taken care of. The only thing you have to do is to meet certain requirements. The wonderful thing is that there are no physical or mental requirements. Gender, race, age – none of it matters! The only requirement that everyone who enters has to meet is to accept Christ as Lord and Savior! Doing so will grant you eternal membership in His family. What a deal, right?
The thing is, we can’t buy our way in, we can’t work our way in, we can’t sneak in. Accepting Christ is the one and only stipulation to gain entrance. He paid the price for all who are willing to accept His offer.
But it needs to be made very clear that it is not a walk in the park. Once we accept Christ’s gift of salvation, it will take work on our part to be obedient and stay in line with His guidance and direction. We won’t be thrown out because we struggle. We won’t be thrown out for falling flat on our faces even. The only way to be thrown out is to reject Christ and defiantly turn our back on Him, rejecting who He is and what He has done for us. But it will take work…
Jesus said in verse 24,
“Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. NLT
“Strive to enter through the narrow door [force aside unbelief and the attractions of sin]; for many, I tell you, will try to enter [by their own works] and will not be able. AMP
The work we are required to do is diligently striving to force aside unbelief and the attractions of sin. Trying to enter by our own works – our own efforts, rejecting Christ’s gift – that is where we will fail, and we will not be able to enter.
It is not at all easy but the reward for our efforts is literally out of this world!
But one last warning from our loving Lord and Savior in verse 30,
“And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then.” NLT
Our world has twisted many things. We bow down and worship those in authority, those with talent and power and wealth. We grovel before them and hang onto their every word. But in God’s eyes, “all our deeds of righteousness are like filthy rags”. Isaiah 64:6 AMP (emphasis mine)
We cannot pay the price. Our only choice is to reject the lies of the world and to embrace the truth of Christ. Amen!
Aug 27th, 2020, Thurs, 10:54 pm
