Friday 13th February

Matthew 7 vs 13 - 14.
 
13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
 
There are times when a satnav comes in very handy as it did a few weeks ago when we were diverted of the main Newcastle to Belfast Road into a road I’d never travelled before in the pitch black of a winter evening. A few years ago we would really have been travelled on our instincts but on this occasion the satnav, the first we’ve ever had on a car kept us on the straight and narrow, and by the way, it was narrow.
 
There is no need for a guide on the broad road Jesus describes here, there are few restrictions, and it is wide enough to accommodate any belief, as long as it’s sincere of course. That’s why so many people travel on it. The narrow gate that leads to life is easy to miss, the road narrow and the going sometimes difficult, the challenges are many and perseverance is required but our God has provided a guide, two in fact his word and his Spirit. I’ve never had great faith in a satnav though on the occasion described above it proved reliable. When we trust in Jesus, follow his lead, believe his word and trust his Spirit he will never fail to lead us through green pastures and dark valleys safely to eternal life in his presence.