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Christ, the Narrow Gate, the Difficult Way, and Abundant Life

The other day, I was speaking with Old Man Tom. Old Man Tom, that’s what everybody calls him anyway. Nobody really knows why. Personally, I think it’s because he’s older than dirt. But whatever the reason, he is a very sage individual, having more common sense than a drug store has pills.

Anyway, on that particular day, the first thing he said was, “Charles, I’ve had an epiphany about how I clean house.”

“An epiphany about cleaning house?”

“Oh yeah. It comes from the saying, “From dust you came, and to dust, you will return.”

“I’m familiar with the saying, but what has this to do with cleaning your house?”

“Well, this is why I don’t dust. It might be someone I know.”

I laughed at that one.

I said, “I got to give you credit for that one, Tom. That was actually a good one. Care for some coffee?”

He said, “Yes, please. Then I’ll have a question for you.”

How did I know? “Ok,” I said, “what’s the question?”

“As the wise philosopher once said, ‘Coffee first, questions second.’”

“Don’t know who this wise… person is, but I’ll second that. Coffee first, then we talk. Come on in, and I’ll put some on. So, what’s the question we’re going to talk about?”

“Jesus said that narrow is the gate and restricted is the way that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14). He also said that he came to give an abundance of life to those who believe in him (John 10:10). My question is, how does this work? How can the narrow gate and the restricted, difficult path lead to an abundance of life?”

“French Roast.”

“What?”

“French Roast - this is definitely a French Roast type of question. And believe it or not, this will be my first coffee of the day.”

“First of the day? Well then,” he said with a smile, “it is fortunate for you that I came by with my epiphany, is it not?”

Sometimes, it’s best to remain silent and just make the coffee, which is what I did.

Now, as Old Man Tom is waiting for the coffee to brew, my name is indeed Charles, and this is the Coffee-side Chat series here on the Simple Not Shallow Podcast. This podcast is for those who want a deeper faith, not an aggressively mediocre one. This series is a collection of stories conveying real things about the Christian faith and about loving God. Now communicating real things about the Christian faith does mean that Scripture will be referenced, from time to time, in these stories. Honestly, how could it not? But rather than breaking up the flow of the story with chapter and verse listings, I will list them where they occur in the transcript of this story, which will be posted in the show notes for this episode. That way, you can check out all the references for yourself. Also, and this is very important, it should be noted that these stories are being enjoyed while I’m nursing this here cup of coffee sitting on the table right beside me. This is, after all, a coffee-side chat.

Also, before we delve into this, I do want to mention our sponsor, our book: Psalms 1-72, A Simple Not Shallow Presentation. It is a presentation of the first 72 Psalms that is true to the Scripture and allows the poetry to be poetry. It is a beautiful read and it’s easy to read, revealing the prayerfulness in the Psalms. Now, don’t worry because I like you so very much that I’ve provided a couple of links for you in the show notes for this episode, just for your convenience. So, go ahead, tell our sponsor that you like this podcast, and collect your copy today.

Ok, grab yourself some coffee, for it’s time to begin this story, this conversation with Old Man Tom.

Once the coffee was ready, and we were seated at the kitchen table, I said, “All right, Tom, I have my coffee; let’s talk. How do the narrow and the difficult lead us into abundance? For if I know you, you already have the answer, do you not?”

While looking over the rim of his coffee cup, he grinned. Right there, I knew that things were going to get interesting. He said, “Well, to begin with… this coffee is very good. Anyway, to begin with, do you know where we are taught about the narrow gate and the difficult way?”

“Uhhhhhh…. Somewhere in the New Testament, right? In the gospels, something Jesus says, I believe?”

“Good, good guess. But do you know where specifically?”

“Sure I do…. Maybe…. Ok, not really.” Now I know that is not my most eloquent response ever, but in my defense, this was my first cup of coffee.

“It’s from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:13-14).”

And I said, “Oh yeah, Sermon on the Mount.” Did I mention that this is my first cup of coffee?

Not suppressing a smile, he said, “Anyway… the other day, this was the passage in my daily devotional. And as I was reading it, my mind went back to our last couple of conversations, and about how Jesus said that he came to bring us an abundance of life. This is where my question came from. For how can those means which seem to be the exact opposite of the desired end be the things which bring about that end?”

“Yo, Tom, first cup.”

“Oh, sorry. Well, as I pondered this, I stumbled onto a passage (John 10:9) where Jesus says he is the gate we must use to enter into this abundance. Isn’t that intriguing?”

“Sure, it’s intriguing, but how does that even begin to…?”

Before I could finish my question, he raised his hand and said, “Patience, grasshopper. Sip on your coffee, and I will explain.”

“Patience, grasshopper…? Have you been watching those Kung Fu reruns again?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“Lucky guess.”

He smiled real big and continued, “Now, if Jesus is the gateway we must enter, then the Sermon on the Mount must be about more than just a set of good moral teachings for us to aspire to, right? Because the narrow gate in that sermon is now a person, Jesus himself. And while a person can be moral, he can never be a moral teaching.”

“And that means…?”

“This means that the narrow gate and the difficult way cannot be merely about keeping a set of moral teachings, no matter how good they are.”

I must have looked more than a little puzzled at this point, for he said, “Now…. Yes, the Sermon on the Mount contains moral teachings, and yes, we are to put these into practice. Yet, even as true as this is, there must be something else lying under the surface of those teachings. Something else that goes hand in hand with all the rest.”

“Tom,” I said, “meaning no disrespect, sir, but all this is about as clear as the coffee in my cup. Which, as you know, is black as pitch.”

He nodded and said, “What I’m trying to say is this. There is something here we must not neglect if we are to make any sense of the narrow entrance and difficult way being the way of having abundance.

“Do you remember our conversation a while back about how Christianity is about living a whole life from our whole life? That it is about loving God with our entire being and our neighbors as ourselves?”

“I remember.”

“Well….”

“Well…?”

“If we are to love with our entire being, doesn’t that sound like we are to be in a relationship with God?”

“So, could not the difficult way, and as Jesus refers to himself as the gateway to this path, simply be referring to a relationship with himself being the only way to this abundance?”

My face must have registered the fact that the light was beginning to break through my mental mist. For he said, “Yes, the narrow gate and difficult way are Jesus and a relationship with him. And it is this relationship that leads to an abundance of life. That is how they go together.”

“Whoa.” That was as eloquent as I could be.

A glint now showed in Tom’s eyes as he saw that mist of mine was indeed slowly burning away. He said, “Whoa, indeed. And relationships, by definition, are somewhat limiting. Are they not? Think about your closest friend, your closest relationship. There are certain limitations you must place on yourself in order to maintain and grow it, are there not? I mean, you know what to do to build that friendship, to help it grow stronger. Right?

“The opposite is also true. You know what buttons to push, what to do to make that person angry. And you know that if you persist in this, you will drive the other person away. And all your relationships are the same. Your relationship with God is exactly the same. You can draw closer to him or push him away.

And all the relationships you have require hard work if they are to be all they can be. They just do. Yet it is precisely doing the hard work that allows those relationships to be one of the most rewarding things on earth. To become more valued and cherished than any other thing we know. So too, with God; for that relationship to be the most freeing, rewarding, and abundance-of-life-giving relationship it can be, you will have to work hard to develop it. You will have to choose the way that limits your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to those which grow the relationship. And this does involve deciding to stay away from those that harm it.”

Sometimes, the most eloquent thing to do is remain silent. So I cocked an eyebrow, raised my coffee to my mouth, and… remained eloquent.

And believe it or not, it is at this point that things began to get interesting. For he said, “This also opens up another teaching from Jesus. The one where he says that if you try to save yourself, you’ll lose yourself. But if you lose yourself for his sake, you will genuinely find yourself (Matthew 16:25). You will be all that you can be if you choose the limitation of a relationship with him. In this friendship, much more is gained than is ever missed out on.”

That caused me to slowly lower my coffee cup to the table as I contemplated it.

“Ohhh,” he said, “and what I say next is really going to blow your mind. To not seek this narrow way, but rather to choose to walk upon the other pathway, the broad and easy one mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:13-14), is actually to choose to travel upon the pathway of limitation. For then, you limit yourself from ever experiencing the abundance of life that a relationship with God brings. Yeah, take your time with that one.”

This would take me some time to process: a good bit of time and much more coffee. And always being the astute observer of the human condition, Old Tom saw this and graciously brought this conversation to a close. Saying that, he hoped I wouldn’t mind if we stopped here, but he should probably get moving. He had a couple of errands to run before keeping an appointment downtown. He thanked me for the conversation and the coffee, saying that both were always excellent at my place. A gracious friend is Old Tom. Then, with a wave of his hand, he was off and on his errands. And I… I was putting more coffee water on.

Anyway. What do you think? If you don’t mind, let me know all about it in the comments section for this episode. Click on the link provided in the show notes for this episode. Copy and paste it if you need to. And once on this episode’s home page, scroll down, and you will find that comment box and can share away. Thank you for doing so. Also, please rate this episode and subscribe to this podcast through the podcast service of your choice. Stitcher, Spotify, Apple podcasts, iheartradio, tune in, google podcasts, or whichever you prefer.

Well, until next time then. May you find the abundance of life, found only by entering the narrow gate and walking the difficult way of a relationship with Jesus.

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