Articles
Strive to Enter
Reading: Luke 13:18-35
It’s a simple yet powerful question someone asks the Son of God in Luke 13:23: “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” Jesus doesn’t answer with a direct yes or no, but gives an instruction that is at once sobering and hopeful: strive to enter through the narrow door.
God offers all mankind salvation. His kingdom is open to all who enter by the Son. Though this kingdom came in a small, unassuming manner, it has expanded its size and influence—like a mustard seed growing into a tree, or leaven spreading through flour (vv. 18-21). Jesus says people have and will come from all over the world to enjoy a seat at this table (v. 29). So why is the door narrow?
Salvation isn’t doled out unconditionally to any person or group of people. God gives each of us free will to reject Him, loving and caring though He be (v. 34). But it doesn’t take outright rejection to miss the door to God’s kingdom; just because someone in Jesus’s time saw him work and heard him teach, that didn’t grant them access to the kingdom (vv. 25-27). They had to want it, and they had to pursue it by following Jesus.
No one accidentally becomes a Christian, and no one will stumble their way into heaven. We only attain a right relationship with our Maker now and in eternity because we make it our aim and highest goal to know the Lord and live according to His truth and love. So, what does striving look like for you this week? God has opened the door, but you must choose to enter—and abide in—the narrow way.
