Do you know what it is like to drive on a narrow road? Out in the country where I live, you get to experience narrow roads. I’m talking about the kind of road that when two vehicles approach each other, both of them might have their right tires off the road in order pass by the other car or truck. If you spend all your time in the city or driving on highways, you may not have experienced that. But I can tell you that when the road you are on is narrow, you need to pay careful attention to what you are doing.

We have also come across a lot of narrow roads over the years in Colorado up in the mountains. Some of those gravel roads on mountain passes are so narrow that two vehicles cannot pass. Every so often they have a little pull out where one vehicle can go to allow the other vehicle to get by.

I remember being at Royal Gorge back in the late 90s. It is a beautiful suspension bridge outside of Canon City. Nowadays, only their trams and golf carts are allowed on the bridge. Back then they still let you drive your personal vehicle across the bridge, which we did. You could only go about 10 MPH because there was pedestrian traffic on the bridge, too. We had a 91 Suburban. A large dually pickup was headed toward us. I eased over to the right as far as I could, and he did the same. The right-hand mirror of our vehicle was scraping against the railing of the bridge. At the same time, the mirror of that pickup went over our driver’s side mirror and was right next to my window. It can be difficult to navigate a narrow road.

Jesus had said to his followers, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13–14 )

More often than we like to admit, we are tempted by that wide, easy way. We follow our own desires instead of listening to the will of God. What harm can there be, really, letting everybody just do their own thing? Live and let live, right? I’m OK, You’re OK.  Isn’t that the message of toleration the world is always prescribing? The path is wide enough for everyone to do whatever they want. It really is. The wide path is an option. But Jesus said going that way leads to destruction.

In the Word of God, the Holy Spirit calls us to repentance, to turn from that destructive road of sin and self-centeredness, asking God’s forgiveness. Jesus calls us to the narrow way, His way, and we know that is what is best for us. It may be hard to follow, but it is the way that leads to life.

Jesus showed us the way. He took the narrow way, the hard way, living a life without sins. His path of ministry narrowed down to the final road that would lead to suffering and the cross. That narrow way would mean death for him and life for us—through the forgiveness he won with a cross and empty tomb.

In baptism we were taken from the wide road leading to destruction and placed by the Spirit on the narrow road of Jesus that leads through death and into life. In Romans 6, the apostle Paul asks,  “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Through faith in Jesus Christ, you are created anew. Once you were enemies of God, lost in sin, going your own way on the wide path of destruction. Then by the power of the Holy Spirit you were called to faith, buried with Christ in baptism. You shared his death and were raised up from the water with your feet set firmly on His narrow road to walk “in newness of life.”

The death and resurrection of Jesus reconcile us to God. He has given us the message of reconciliation to share with the world, the good news that in Christ, God has reconciled all the world to himself. When you see others lost on that wide way to destruction, pray for them and reach out to them in witness, hoping to bring them by the Spirit’s power onto the narrow way that leads to life in Jesus’ name.