The Lord speaks of two ways along which men can walk (Matthew chapter 7, verses 13 – 14).
- The wide and broad way — “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.”
- The narrow way — “because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it”
What does this mean? The wide and broad way is what most of mankind follow, and it leads to the final home you worked hard for all your life — the grave, also known as hell: the place whose thirst is never quenched, and many will spend eternity there in total nonexistence.
They have had their portion in this life and chose by their free will to live that way until death, under the bondage of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.
Enjoying the pleasures and riches of this life, making it their god, leaning on their own understanding, making vain men their masters and wise counsellors soaked in vexation — all are the blind, leading the blind, who fall into the ditch together.
The straight and narrow way that few of mankind find is to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and things concerning the Kingdom of God. Believing Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God died for our sins, and was raised from the dead on the third day — and be baptized, and be born again, cleansed of all sins past by His blood.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born?
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:3-8).
You will then start the journey upon that narrow path, being first born of water, the old man dead with Christ, being mortified by the flesh — a daily battlewhich had you in bondage before, enduring the suffering, and now learning to seek after the things of the Spirit.
But if one is faithful until death, or Jesus returns, obeying His commandments and walking in them thereof by faith, then the grave will not hold you. For Jesus is the life and the resurrection and will raise the dead at His coming by the grace of God.
God, the Creator of all things, has given authority over all flesh to the Son, Jesus Christ. God’s Will and Providence no man can manipulate, for God’s Will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven.
But we cannot step outside the divine will and providence of God. There is absolute truth, which is God’s word. And there is apostasy and lies, which are the vain imaginations of this world, and a wicked generation called men.
Men have been the problem since the fall of man, when sin entered the world by Adam – see Romans chapter 5, verse 12. The two outcomes: eternal life upon the earth with your Creator and Jesus Christ the Lord, or eternal separation from God in an eternal dark and unconscious abyss for eternity — where it will be too late to turn to God when we do not exist anymore, returning to dust as if we were never born.
The gospel has been preached for over two thousand years, and creation around you is a witness to you daily of the Creator — that men are without excuse.
The grand Architect is the Author, and Potter — we, the clay. Whether it be good or calamity, God Himself says, “I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil; I the Lord do all these things” (Isa. 45:7). So what can the clay say to the Potter? Nothing, we are but dust.
Men and women have free will, allowed to choose how they want to live their lives. He gives us a choice, just like Adam and Eve had a choice. However, we live by faith, not by sight. It is written, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report through faith.
We understand that “the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (Heb. 11:1-3).
So what will you choose? Repent of your sins, accept the gospel, or continue enjoying pleasure and confusion — trusting in the vanity of your mind, waiting for wretched man to solve your problems, living in sin until the day you perish unto dust, forgotten by those who come after.All that you worked hard for and left behind is but dung, for any memory of you will last but a while, but will fade away from thought as quickly as the last breath you took.
Kieran Waite
