The gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life

Matthew 6 and 7

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? ²⁷ And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? ²⁸ And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, ²⁹ yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! ³¹ Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ ³² For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

³⁴ “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. ² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

¹² “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

In our text today, from the One Year Bible daily reading, it begins with Jesus saying for this reason. Jesus had been teaching on the principle of living our lives with a heavenly focus, accumulating treasure in heaven. He taught that when we pray we should be confident, knowing that our heavenly Father already knows what we need. Jesus then, for this reason, encourages us not to worry. There might possibly be no more important lesson we can learn,  aside from our redemption from sin, than to live life free from worry and anxiety. In the U.S. currently anywhere from 4-10% of the population is being treated for depression or anxiety disorders. That doesn't take into account the millions more who are undiagnosed, untreated or only worry "normally". That is alot of worry and anxiety. Please know that I in no way am judging or critical of anyone who suffers from depression, anxiety or any similar psychological problem and I would not encourage anyone to not recieve treatment from their doctor. To some extent we all have fears, worry, stress and anxiety. Yet as Jesus asks,  who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?  

Jesus' answer is, But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you, that heavenly focus He spoke of previously. So much of our worry and anxiety is over the temporal things of this life. If we  learn to live in Christ we have promises in God's word.

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You

1 Peter 5:6-7 tells us to, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, ⁷ casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Jesus cames to earth and lived in a human body, with a human mind and and emotions. He knows how we feel. He cares for you.

In our text as it moves from chapter 6-7 Jesus moves from this teaching about worry and anxiety to a teaching about faith in prayer. We are to have confidence knowing that if we ask and seek from Father God, He will give us what we need, what is good for us. As I reflected on this text I almost did not include verses 1-5 of chapter 7 dealing with not judging. We have talked quite a bit about not judging and forgiving so I intended to focus on other verses. What I realized though is that there is significance to the fact that Jesus includes this teaching between His teaching about worry and His teaching about answered prayer. Living a life of forgiveness, free from judgment, is the linchpin to less stress and answered prayer. We know from yesterday that we need to forgive for our prayers to be answered.

Mark 11:24-26 "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. 25"Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. 26"But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions."

How much of our worry and anxiety is also tied to our feelings that we hold toward others. Judgment, criticism and unforgiveness are gateways to stress and anxiety. As we learn to forgive and not judge we will increasingly live at peace. As we center our will and focus on God's kingdom and His righteousness the rest of the things we need will come increasingly more easy.

Jesus ends this text with the words,

 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

This narrow gate or narrow entry way is not because of the heavy burden and tremendous restrictions Jesus place on us. That is a false perception held and taught by the world.

Jesus says:  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.(Matthew 11:29)

We can choose to take the wide way wondering in every direction, chasing after what we think we need at the time. We can veer from side to side following the doctrines of man. Jesus says:  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.(John 14:6) Jesus is the narrow way. If we will take His yoke upon ourselves He will lead us in that straight and narrow way.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight 

A straight path is the shortest path. His staight path is the one with no worries, fears or anxiety. His path holds the answers we seek and all God's provision for this and every day.  

 " Seek first His kingdom." "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."  “Enter through the narrow gate" 

Jesus Christ.