Matthew 7

The Strait Gate

Enter ye in at the strait gate. Matthew 7:13 (AV).

Have you ever noticed that if a story is told of someone who has performed a very difficult task, ever so many young people want to copy him? The story of the martyrs is a great example of this. Men heard of fires having been kindled here and there over Scotland and England, and the thought that there was no faith like that for which the martyrs were having to die burned within them. And you boys and girls must have heard how, during the World War I and II, young men were led to enlist by reading of wounds and battles and sufferings. It is born in us, this wanting to do something that is not easy.

Christ knew it. He had more than one reason for telling the people that it was a hard thing to follow Him. He drew an imaginary picture of two roads, one strait that is, narrow the other wide. “Enter ye in at the strait gate,” He said. “Choose it because it is narrow. In the end you will find that it leads to Life Eternal.” The other road, He said, was that taken by the easy-going people. They did as they liked upon it; they troubled about nothing; but that road led to destruction.

Now there are three things I want you to remember about the narrow way.

1. The entrance to the narrow way is through the narrow gate, and it is low as well as narrow. So we must enter it very humbly. There are on some of the northern moors very narrow openings that lead into long winding passages. These are the “Piets' houses” of which some of you may have read. The only way to get into them is to go down upon one's knees. And that is just how we must enter the strait gate.

2. The way is narrow but it is safe. There is a strange island fortress off the coast of Normandy. It stands on a rock in the midst of a wide bay. A little narrow causeway leads across the sands to the fortress. On each side of the causeway are treacherous sinking sands. If you were to step from the causeway on to these sands, you would be engulfed in a moment. The only safe way is the narrow way of the causeway.

And the safe way leads to the safe place. It leads us to the Father's home in Heaven.

3. The way is narrow but it is not lonely; for Jesus Himself walks there. And whatever the road may bring us we have nothing to fear, for He is by our side, ready and willing to help us.

There is a very fine story told in one of Browning's poems. Let me tell it to you.

There was once a big sea fight between the ships of England and those of France, and the few French ships that were left after the battle wanted to get into the harbor, away from the fleet that was pursuing them. When they got some pilots from shore, however, they declared it impossible to take those big war-vessels in, the way was so narrow. But a sailor, Herve Riel by name, stood up and said they were all wrong. He knew the channel well, and could take the whole fleet past all the rocks and shoals right up the river mouth to the place where they would be in safety. You know that a pilot is always needed to find the channel, for although there is a broad sheet of water to look at, the stream winds about, and there are banks of mud in some places and rocks in others. Well, Herve Riel took the biggest ship, made the others follow exactly in its wake, and got them all through without any of them touching the ground. There they were safe from English ships, for these did not know the way.

Do you understand what the story means? I think you do. Jesus Himself said, “I am the way.” He is ready to be your pilot. Ask Him this very morning to lead you in the way everlasting.