Narrow Or Wide
“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land...” Deut. 30:15-16NLT
God was offering the Israelites through Moses a second chance at Eden. The choice to: ‘Do it God’s way. Don’t get sidetracked by satan, like Adam did. Don’t doubt. Love Me! Love your neighbor! Love yourself! For in Me everything would be multiplied, nothing divided.’ BUT like Adam they were disobedient, rarely heading in the direction of Almighty God.
Jesus said, “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.” Mt. 7:13-14NIV We drove the mountainous roads in Yellowstone with a big 3500 series pickup. Passing other vehicles on the narrow curves; looking straight down over 3000 feet out my truck window —unnerving. Sometimes the road leading to the narrow gate of love is equally intimidating. Narrowness comes with forgiving, when you’ve been terribly wronged. Choosing to love, over having revenge. Giving, when you don’t have enough. Helping those who seem too petty to care about your help. All this seems hard, ugly and treacherous.
None of this makes sense, but is worth every cost. Wondrously, it opens into a wide expanse of liberty, joy, provision, equality, relationship and rest God’s new Garden of Eden.
On the other hand, the wide party road and gate “leads to destruction.” Afterwards this road of sin narrows on you. Addictions holds you bound, refusing to let go you free: Throwing the slime of shame all over you: Convincing you there’s no way out.
Choices: A tiny, seemingly insignificant choice can make or break the rest of the your life. God had set before the Israelites the opportunity to choose life with prosperity or death with disaster. Of course, the Israelites said they chose God, but in actions, they chose to follow after the sinful distractions of the surrounding nations. Nations God had expelled from the land for these exact sins. By choosing to allow a remnant of those nations to remain within their territories, the wide gate was thrown open leading Israel away from God, down into the single file pathway to depravity.
Yahweh God’s condition for life was “to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways.” Each of God’s commands give life. His decrees avoid satan’s territory and addictions. Keeping His regulations promoted healthy boundaries and hope. Walking in His ways kept love in the forefront and disaster out of the way.
Through Christ Jesus, God still places before each of us a choice for God’s rest. Josh. 24:15KJV “... choose you this day whom ye will serve...or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Which road will you take? The difficult love road with the narrow gate and regulations bringing love and life? The seemingly wide gate which narrows into destruction, bondage and death? It’s your choice. You choose.
PRAYER: Papa God, help us to take the narrow way of love, in Jesus’ name I pray.
by Debbie Veilleux Copyright 2019 You have my permission to reblog this devotional for others. Please keep my name with this devotional as author. Thank you.
