Matthew 7:13-14 - Wk 4 Day 5

Jesus said,

"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.

[But] the gate is narrow

and the road is hard

that leads to life,

and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:13-14

Have you ever seen a road rally? People race across the countryside. Depending on the particular rules of that particular race, the racers can often choose any route they want, but they have to hit certain checkpoints to keep moving forward.

The will of God is kind of like that.

In general, there’s lots of flexibility, but there are several hard and fast checkpoints. For example … in the Old Testament, God said he would bring descendants of Abraham into the Promised Land. Once they left the shores of the Red Sea, the route they took we unexpectedly round-about. Because of their rebellion, it them took forty extra years to get to the next checkpoint and cross the Jordan. But

God’s ultimate plan was hard and fast.

There are several other hard and fast checkpoints …

·         God, for example, promised that he would send the Messiah from the line of David. Checkpoint crossed.

·         Jesus promised he would come again. That one’s in the future and people are already gathering at this checkpoint, cheering, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

That’s the hard and fast will of God. Let’s call it the ultimate will of God.

There’s another form of God’s will, the provisional will of God. This is what God deeply desires to happen -- to honor and worship him, for example – but he doesn’t force us. Think of it like this …

·         Life is like being given a car.

·         Scripture is the road map.

·         God is the judge waiting at each checkpoint.

·         He wants to give us a trophy at the end. It is the grand prize.

·         He says, to keep advancing in this journey, you need to keeping crossing certain checkpoints.

·         And then he sets us free.

·         We are free to turn left when we should turn right.

·         We steer in our own directions.

·         We get busted for ignoring the traffic rules.

·         Most of us don’t progress at a very quick pace.

·         We convince ourselves that our personally chosen route is more scenic, more exciting … and much wiser and much quicker, of course.

·         We pick up the hitchhikers along the way, and the wrong friends steer us the wrong way.

·         Fortunately, God keeps calling out to us.

·         On his cell phone, he says he’s waiting at the checkpoint just for you.

·         He says he has refreshments waiting to help sustain you for the next leg of your journey.

·         With his GPS, he’s even willing to help re-route us and help us find the next checkpoint more quickly.

·         Some people take him up on it, and the race goes smoother.

·         However, most people – to one degree or another – like to do things their own way. They call it an adventure …

·         … but they wonder why there are so many accidents and so many hurts and so much hunger along the way.

·         Indeed, when it’s the time for their race to end, they begin to wonder why they never got much of anywhere and their purpose was never fulfilled.

Where are you in this race? Hitting checkpoints? Wondering lost?

Who do you know who’s lost? How might you help them along?

God’s will is for you to honor and worship him … to serve him and know him … to forge a relationship that will last forever … and to be with him in the kingdom to come.

It is the will of God – see our lesson for today – to enter through the narrow checkpoint and avoid the easy highway that leads to destruction.

In Christ’s Love,

Speed Racer