August 3 I Wednesday

Psalms 63-65

Romans 6

“I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.”    

—John 10:9

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches His disciples and the crowd, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Although these verses speak to a fruitful life for the disciples of Jesus, they also speak to salvation for the crowd. Jesus, being the Master Teacher that He is, used imagery to speak to both His disciples and the crowd.

       We may wonder, what is the narrow gate? Instead of what, the appropriate question should be, who is the narrow gate? We find the answer in a dialogue between Jesus and Thomas in John 14:5-6. “Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where You are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” Jesus is the narrow gate. No one can go through the narrow gate without a relationship with Jesus. As we consider this important point, may we honestly ask ourselves, do we have an authentic relationship with Jesus?

       The good news of the Bible is that Jesus Christ is God, who came into the world to set the captives free. He came to bring reconciliation and restoration to all people. He did that by giving of Himself, dying on the cross for our sins, taking away all of our sin and washing us clean with His blood—all to show us just how much He loves us. Then on the third day, He was raised back to life. When He did that, He conquered death, making eternal life possible for all of us. We are saved by the free gift of the grace of Jesus. It is free for us to receive, but we have to receive it through our faith in Jesus.

       While many of us may have heard this good news before, how many of us actually believe it is the only way to salvation? There are many in this world that desire to walk the road that leads to life, even believing that all roads will eventually lead to the same place. But the truth is, according to God’s Word, Jesus is the only way—He is the narrow gate that marks the road to life, all other roads lead to destruction. Entrance through the narrow gate can only be achieved through a relationship with Jesus. Have we received Him through faith?

Prayer: Precious Jesus, thank You for coming into the world to set the captives free, to bring reconciliation and restoration. I believe in You. Please grow my relationship with You. Amen!