Have you ever watched Lord of the Rings? Who hasn't? Seriously, who hasn't.......even my kids have. There is a part in the movie when Frodo and Sam are on a hill watching the giant gates of Mordor open...disgorging thousands of freakish auks to march into battle. Against that gate, the humanoids look like ants.
I heard somewhere that Tolkein was a Christian. Which brings me to my point: what is he demonstrating with the visualization of huge old gates opening wide to allow a massive stream of creatures pass through?
In my heart, Christ has been whispering about the Narrow Gate. He talks about it in the Bible when he talks about what it takes to follow him.
So what is the Narrow Gate?
The Narrow Gate is the one that you pass through as a individual, accepting Christ first as saviour. There is only room for you and Christ to pass through. None of your friends or family or wealth or good deeds or brainpower or beauty can get you through that gate. It opens for Christ and the one that He loves and who loves Him. (John 3:16)
Obviously, that means that the wide gate will take anyone. With anything that they want to bring. As many as want to pass through at a time.
The Narrow Gate is intimate, personal, reverent. It's like the gate in the Secret Garden that is hidden under growth but holds so much meaning. The wide gate is impersonal, exposing, brazen. There are masses going in and you are just another body.
So what does the Narrow Gate ask of me today?
Today, it means that I need to be a Seeker, someone who is looking for that little gate amongst the huge ones in today's world. It means that I am meditating on the verse that encourages me to "Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you..." (Luke 12:31) Seeking the narrow gate means first and foremost that I seek the Kingdom, in the Bible, in my prayers, in the conversations that I have with other believers. I take time to read the Word every day, to meditate on it, to ask for it's truth to light up my life and the lives of those that I love.
"I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me" says the Lord in Proverbs 8:17
I want to find God.......this means that I need to determine that I am going to seek Him..........and keep looking for the Narrow Gate.
My search is continuing.....what is keeping you going?
No comments:
Post a Comment