Stay on the Narrow Road
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Matthew 7:13-14
Continue to follow Christ because he will keep you on the narrow road to eternal life. Satan is always trying to get us off the narrow road and onto the broad road to eternal destruction. Satan’s goal is that we justify his temptation, then he has a foothold without us knowing. For example, complacency through reading the Bible less, praying less, or providing less ministry to others. His desire is to kill our Spiritual growth and to keep us from being a light for Christ.
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Romans 8:29) All those who accept Christ as their Lord and Savior are predestined to conform to the image of Jesus. God is molding us to have the mind and heart of Jesus, and this is a lifelong process of spiritual growth. Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. (1 John 2:6) If we are to be motivated to live as Jesus did, we need a heart filled with God’s love.
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 14:15 NASB) God will fill our hearts with his love so his commands are the desire of our hearts. Jesus was motivated by a heart of love, and we are to conform to the image of Jesus. How can we do this without a heart of love? We live out of our hearts, and a heart of love motivates spiritual growth that will keep us on the narrow road.
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater. (2 Thessalonians 1:3 NASB95) We can notice spiritual growth by Biblical knowledge that has reached our hearts, and we are motivated to bring the good news of Christ to the world. The key to spiritual growth is ministering personally to people in the church and people outside the church. The more we minister to others, the more love God puts in our hearts. The more love we have in our hearts, the closer we are to the Lord and the more we are motivated to tell others about Christ. We now pray that the Lord opens doors for us to bring Christ to the world, and we are constantly seeking to bring Christ to others. That’s the power of God’s love in our hearts — our focus changes from self to God and others.
Today, focus on God and others and seek to reflect Jesus to everyone with love, kindness, and patience. When we live to serve Christ and to help others, our heart remains content and thankful.
Prayer: Lord, guide me to stay on the narrow road and don’t let Satan tempt me to justify anything that’s not pleasing to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.