August 26, 2010

You're being chased. You're drowning. You're trapped. You're being injured. You miss a plane. This list includes, at least according to one survey, the top 5 most common nightmare themes. The picture that Jesus paints with his words in our Gospel lesson for this upcoming Sunday trumps all of these nightmare scenarios, but the truth is, this picture is more than just a potential nightmare scenario. This picture will sadly one day be reality for the majority of people living on this earth - for all those who don't find the narrow door that leads to the inside of the house.

"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' "Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' "But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!" (Luke 13:24-27)

In my opinion, this passage contains one of the most bone-chilling concepts in all of Scripture - to be on the outside looking in, with no hope of the door ever opening again because "once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door," it will be too late. We will obviously want to avoid this scenario at all costs - as though our life depended on it - because our eternal life does depend on it! We will want to "make every effort." But even if we made EVERY effort, we, as humans, on our own merit, still couldn't make it through the narrow door. There is only one way into the house. "Jesus [said] "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) In order to get into the house where the Father is, we have to first realize that we actually deserve to be one of those in the crowd clawing at the door on the outside - we have to repent for everything that we have done or haven't done that should put us in that crowd, and then we need to turn to Jesus, where we will find entrance. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved (John 10:9)

So how do we get "through" Jesus? Will it be enough to simply know him? The people clawing and scratching at the door in Jesus' story knew Jesus, and yet Jesus told them that he didn't know them. The familiar John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) Notice it does NOT say, that whoever simply "knows" Jesus will have eternal life. No, it says that we must "believe" in him - we must have faith in him - we must put all our trust and confidence in him. The only way to believe and have faith is through exposure to God's Word. "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17) The less we are reading and hearing or at least thinking about the Word, the less we are believing in Jesus and the more we are just knowing of Jesus. Those who only know of Jesus won't be remembered, "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from." We would do well to get into God's word for a dose of faith strengthening and then pray like the thief on the cross who said "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." (Luke 23:42)

You know our enemy the devil takes a look at this same passage, and what he sees is a "dream come true." His number one focus is to get more and more people into that crowd that stands outside the house after it is too late. And there's no doubt about it, the devil is working extra hard on each and every one of us reading this devotion right now - he's working to pry us away from the Word - because he knows the power of the Word - the power to create, sustain and strengthen faith in Jesus - our narrow door into heaven. Let's "make every effort to enter through the narrow door," by making every effort to ward off the attacks of the devil. Let's make every effort to get deeper into the Word. Let's "take up the shield of faith, with which [we] can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." (Ephesians 6:16)

Yes, the nightmare scenario we find here in Luke 13 will sadly become a nightmare reality for so many. But for us, only through faith in Jesus - faith that comes from hearing the Word - we can have confidence that we will be one of the few that will escape this nightmare scenario. We will someday have the privilege of entering through Jesus, that narrow door, into the mansions of heaven.