The picture that accompanies this blog is one that I took while visiting my hometown in Malaysia. In the forefront, you see the life of a fishing village. But in the background, you will notice a rather long mountain range. On the other side of the mountain range is the Kingdom of Thailand. It is a natural boundary. But it is not an immigration checkpoint, which means that crossing that border would be illegal. The only entry into Thailand from my state is through a narrow gate, wide enough for two vehicles to pass each other in the coming or going. Overnight, that checkpoint gate will shut for a time and there will be no more coming or going through it.
In Luke 13:22-30, we are given the analogy of a narrow door. While this narrow door will have many come through, it will however shut at an unknown time. Jesus is not only the narrow door, He is the ONLY door to the Kingdom of God. We are reminded of this in John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
Luke 13:29 helps us understand that people from all geographical areas, all walks of life, all economic strata, all social strata, and diverse personal history will walk through this narrow door, so long as they profess a faith in Christ. The reward and joy of that profession would be heaven and an eternity spent in God’s presence. However, the risk here is an unknown time stamp as to how long the door will stay open. At some point, God will shut that door and those who aren’t saved will be on the other side of the door; with an eternity of hell and separation from God awaiting them. They will not be able to enter God’s Kingdom.
God’s Kingdom is inclusive of all backgrounds and personal history, no matter how deep the sin, but exclusive to a profession in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is only through His righteousness that we have the entry to God’s Kingdom.
This has some major implications for our lives. If we understand that the entry to God’s Kingdom is open to all, but yet it has an unknown timestamp, it is imperative then that we share the gospel with urgency. We cannot take God’s patience for granted. We must live in a constant spiritual context, realizing that every person we see every day has an eternal destiny. And we must help them come to the realization that there is only one narrow door for the proper, right, rewarding, joyous, and peaceful destination. May this urge us to make the most of each and every one of our daily interactions to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with them. Their eternal destiny is at stake.
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