Day 15

Entering the Kingdom

from the The Kingdom of God reading plan


Matthew 7:7-29, Psalm 16:7-11, Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 22:1-14

BY Melanie Rainer

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). 

Post Comments (60)

60 thoughts on "Entering the Kingdom"

  1. Dorothy says:

    I start my new job tomorrow. I’m excited and nervous. I haven’t worked with adults with intellectual or developmental disorders much. I will be doing some training. I’ve been putting together my own devotionals to do with them; there isn’t much out there I have found. I’m enjoying it though. I’ll also be doing crafts with them which is “right up my alley”. I would do that a lot with Finley and Kyla.

    I’ve been trying to get back into my usual routines. I started reading my devotions at night again as well as SRT in the morning; I did this Saturday night, as well as started planning the devos for my new job and I slept so much better — so much so I slept clear until 5 pm. (Over 12 hours.) Maybe that was part of what was why I hadn’t been sleeping well.

    Be blessed and start and end your day with the Lord and you find your day and night will go so much smoother sisters.

  2. Aimee D-R says:

    Father, thank You for loving us first so we could love You. How I want to shine Your light In Your KINGDOM! In Jesus name, Amen

  3. Pam LambertWhite says:

    Praying for you, for both comfort and courage to continue on this path. We were reminded the other day that when it children come to us to confess something they did, our hearts are tender and break for them, just as our Lord heart breaks for us and he receives us with love and

  4. Brandy Deruso says:

    I hav decided to follow Jesus no turning back no turning back if non goes with me still i will follow no turning back.

  5. Bethany Rice says:

    This revealed so much!

  6. Melissa Mcronney says:

    Lord please abide in me

  7. Adrienne * says:

    That helps explain a lot (wedding clothes) Kay and Mary too… and Sam… and Kelly and…

  8. Adrienne * says:

    Alicia… I am always confused with that too. My study Bible says that many called to God’s kingdom miss out b/c they refuse to respond to the invitation properly… in faith. That does not mean He is unwilling to save everybody, but that some do no listen to God’s word at all. The invitation is there, but many don’t “respond”.

    1. Brandy Deruso says:

      Amen

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