Jesus describes what it means to enter the kingdom.
I adore the poetry of Robert Frost. I love his embedded New Englandism, as steady as its granite mountains, and his command of simple syntax. Perhaps his most famous poem is known for a line you’ll likely recognize, one that conjures the image of two roads diverging in a yellow wood. “The Road Not Taken” ends with this stanza:
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
This poem has been oft debated and never settled, and despite its cultural fame, only Frost knows what his original intent was. Its open-endedness is one of the gifts of poetry, one that offers acres for our minds to wander without much of a map. But the poem’s imagery of “two roads” can help lead us into today’s readings by envisioning a stark choice. These passages include several teachings of Jesus that, in essence, pose the questions: “Will you follow me? Which road will you take: the narrow, or the wide?” (Matthew 7:13).
There are theological tomes written about each of these stories: the “ask, seek, knock” passage, the two foundations of sand and rock, the parables of the wheat and weeds and of the wedding banquet. There are certainly more nuances and jewels buried in these stories than I may ever have time to learn in this life. But the driving beat in each song is the question of whether we will choose to follow Jesus.
“Will you come to church?” and “Will you be a good person?” are not the questions being asked. It’s much starker and harder than that: Will you follow Jesus in His kingdom? And will your life be fundamentally changed, bearing good kingdom fruit?
These stories offer us a warning and an invitation to take the narrow path toward Jesus, though it won’t be easy. It will cost us a lot in this world: comfort, pleasure, wealth, self-sufficiency, and myriad other things. And our choice, as Jesus says repeatedly, is not a verbal one. It will show in our actions, of how we love others the way He loves them.
But the good news is that when we follow Jesus on the narrow path, we do not walk alone. The Holy Spirit will be our guide, sealing and securing our place in the kingdom. God’s Word will be “a lamp for [our] feet and a light on [our] path” (Psalm 119:105). And the hardest work, opening the door to the kingdom, has already been accomplished by Jesus. He forged a path to God when it was overgrown with sin; all we have to do is follow Him down the path He has revealed to us. A path where in His presence there is abundant joy, and at His right hand are eternal pleasures (Psalm 16:11).
SRT Sisters, I need prayer. I appreciate so much that this is a safe community that I can bring these raw and vulnerable thoughts to. The Lord’s kindness leads to repentance, and I am so thankful for His kindness in illuminating just how damaging my actions can be and how misaligned my heart is right now. I just started counseling last week. In doing so, I’m realizing more and more how my patterns of thinking and natural instincts are unhealthy/toxic. I am now seeing the subtle ways that I often use manipulation and “little” white lies to twist the truth or gain the upperhand in an argument or tense discussion. I am so ashamed. Part of me wants to run away and hide behind my shield of being “a good person” in the world’s eyes. But I know the Lord is calling me towards Him, and to examine my heart and dig deeper into issues of insecurity, abandonment, loss, and abuse from my childhood. This is so scary for me. Sisters, can I ask you to pray for me? Pray that I be brave enough to be honest about the ways my heart/mind have used sin to protect myself, instead of turning to Jesus for that security. There were times in my childhood where those kinds of hard decisions were necessary for safety, but I’m an adult and it is not so anymore. I need help to break these thought patterns, I need to find a way to not always view myself as the one in the “right”, as the victim. My actions are hurtful at times. Help me to honestly view myself, to be able to see where I need to grow and allow myself to be changed by Jesus. Help me to trust that the Lord, who sees right through me into all of the ugly and broken parts, loves me anyway. His word tells me that He does. Help me to repent sincerely. Help me to release shame from past actions and trust the Lord when He says I am forgiven in Christ. I have dreams of a family and being a mother someday. I grew up in a home with emotional/psychological/physical/sexual abuse – I want better for myself and my future family!! I have hurt in me that only heaven can heal. I need the Lord’s help to break this cycle. Please, Jesus, don’t give up on me!! I want to seek You and be changed by You!!
Praying. When those thoughts come, take them captive, call out to Him,. God has made us neuroplasticians who can take every thought captive to obey Christ. We are free indeed!
This is a beautiful reminder for me that our thoughts, decisions, actions, choices, and words must all be girded up in Christ. As we obey the Holy Spirit we bear good fruit. As we submit our lives to Him we follow Him down the narrow path. It’s not something that just happens, we have to choose daily to pick up our cross and follow him. When we believe in and accept the Salvation that Jesus gave us we are endowed with the power to live like Him and for Him. Thank you Jesus
HEIDI and TAYLOR, I love your heart reflections this morning and the prayer from the podcast. Thanks for posting that, HEIDI! I am going to write all of them for future encouragement.
ERB, I am enjoying your comments about Isaiah each day. Isaiah is one of my favorite books in the Bible. I am missing Tina, too, and pray all is well with little Ollie and his mom. God bless!
I’m reminded that the good fruit is the fruit of the spirit, I really don’t even grow it, the Holy Spirit in me will produce this fruit, I need only to acknowledge and believe, interact with this Spirit in prayer and in His holy word and He will produce this fruit in my life; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. I follow Jesus down the right path and my thoughts and actions change as I pursue him, which hopefully others will be drawn to and beginning following Jesus with me!
All we have to do is followHim down the path He has revealed to us. So good. ❤️
Help me to always take the narrow path to you Jesus! I want to walk on the road that leads to eternity with you!
This weeks SRT podcast dropped this AM and I haven’t gotten thru all of it yet but wanted to share on here the daily prayer that the guest, Lysa TerKeurst, wrote and prays each morning. It was so beautiful…
“God, I want to see You. God, I want to hear You. God, I want to follow hard after You. And I know, God, You are good. You are good to me. You are good at being God. Therefore, this morning, I trade my will for Thy will because I’m so assured that You will guide me through this. Thank you that I don’t have to figure everything out. As I walk into this day, I’m intentionally going to look for someone to forgive, someone to bless, and evidence all around me of Your goodness. Amen.” —(Lysa’s daily prayer to orient her heart toward the kingdom of God)
Definitely a convicting passage for this Monday morning! Lord, remove from me any area in my life that is not bearing good fruit. Even when I’m too weak or stubborn to remove those areas on my own, please continue to work in me to give me the strength and courage to take a step of faith and cut off those areas that are not honoring to you. I want to follow You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Thank you for making a way for me to do just that! Thank you for your sacrifice, your love, your mercy, and your faithfulness. Amen <3