High school wrestlers have to deal with “weight limits.” I watched young teenagers putting themselves on torturous diets so they could qualify for the “125-pound” class. Before the match they were “weighed in.” If a young man weighed even 126 pounds, he was disqualified from the competition at that level. The rules were strict, and it was common that many who aspired to compete at a certain weight levels didn’t make the cut.
We know that in sports not everyone “makes the cut.” This is true in the business world as well. Not everyone gets a choice promotion, and not everyone “makes the cut” when a corporation decides to downsize. If it is difficult to qualify for sports competitions and positions in the corporate world, doesn’t it make sense that it is not easy to make it into heaven? Though we know how strict the rules are in sports and the business world, why do we suppose that God is lax about qualifying a person for entrance into a place much more important than a sports arena or corporate headquarters?
In a world where all children get a trophy just for showing up and “social promotion” has become a policy in schools, we have a hard time believing that not everyone will make it to heaven. We can’t imagine ourselves being turned down when we “weigh in” at heaven’s gate.
Jesus spoke to this issue, and what he said is contrary to popular opinion today (Matthew 7:6, 12-14).
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.”
Ouch! Many will not make it, and few will. This makes complete sense to those young wrestlers who spend weeks fighting their desire to eat what they want, while they watch their peers gulping down hamburgers and fries at lunch. Most of their peers wouldn’t think of going through this strenuous training and prefer to choose the “easy way.” It is only those who fight their way through the narrow gate who make “the cut.” Don’t we live in a world where most people assume everyone will drift into heaven someday whether they qualify or not? Our egos would have us believe that we make the rules, and we govern the scales. It doesn’t work this way in the sports world or in God’s world either.
Earlier in the same passage Jesus said:
“Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot and turn and tear you to pieces.”
We are careful about what we consider valuable. We don’t give expensive wine to our pets or throw gold coins to wild animals. If something is sacred to us we protect it and take care of it. Is not God the same way? Would he be foolish enough to toss “eternal life” to anyone and everyone?
The question is, how does a person enter the narrow gate? One of Jesus’ titles is “gate into God’s sheepfold.” He is the narrow gate. Most of the people of his own day rejected Jesus, and refused to follow him. Even some of the religious leaders refused to shed the weight of their own egos and become like little children so they could enter the Kingdom of God.
In the middle of this message Jesus presented the golden rule.
“Do to others whatever you have them do to you.”
How do I want a homeless man to treat me? What do I want my neighbors to say about and think about me? Am I treating others, speaking about others, and thinking about others the way I wish they would treat, speak, and think about me? Do I recognize Jesus in others? Am I willing to do anything it takes and leave anything I have to follow Jesus through the narrow gate?
