“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” ~Luke 13:24
We’ve heard that before, but read it again. The door is the entrance to heaven. The paragraph this comes from goes on to say in verse 28, “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth…you yourselves cast out.”
That sends chills down my spine.
This says that those who have entered through the narrow door will recline at the table with the Lord. We will be eating a meal with him, and it will be something more wonderful than chicken caesar salad.
How do we enter through the narrow door? We live our lives for Jesus. The word “strive” could also be translated “struggle,” or “fight.” This literally translates “strain every nerve to enter.”
In other words, even Jesus recognizes that life is hard. Not impossible, but hard.
We strive to live for Christ. Every breath is a gift from Him. He is the One who breathed life into us in the first place, and He will sustain us through. But in the inbetween, we are called to worship Him and love Him with every nerve of our being.
Who are those who will not be able to enter? The Bible makes it clear that only those who believe will enter, so it logically makes sense that some of those who remain outside are unbelievers. But chances are they are not going to be caught off guard to the point that this passages describes. Especially because the parable Jesus tells to go with this says that they argue that they fully participated in the Church and therefore deserve a place.
Those who do not enter are those who think they are okay but never actually embraced Christ. We’re not allowed to just “play church.” We cannot pretend our way into heaven. God knows our hearts and He will judge us.
Notice that I didn’t say that He’ll judge our actions. What we do matters, but only if our hearts first belong to God. He wants our full love and worship, and then we serve Him from that place of wholeness. Don’t mix up that order. Those who do not enter are those who strive to work for Him first, assuming the love of God will follow. There is nothing we can do to earn His love. It’s already done. Christ gave us His love on the cross. There is nothing we can do to add or subtract from that. God’s love for us has already been established. As much as this verse says to “strive,” we can be sure of our salvation. Ephesians 1:13-14 says that we are sealed in Him; sealed as in given His stamp of approval. He wants us to love Him back, not live in agony of worrying whether or not we’re in.
There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Every time this phrase shows up in Scripture, it is to describe the sorrow of those facing God’s judgment. I know in that moment, I will be too in awe of my Savior to take my eyes off Him, but right now I can’t help by cry for those left outside.
How can someone get to the narrow door without even knowing whether they can enter or not? How many people in our world preach a half-Gospel? They make excuses for all kinds of sin, ignoring the Bible and teaching that God says it’s okay to live irresponsibly. Or how many people in our world preach an inflated Gospel, teaching that God wants us to be perfect before we are allowed into God’s family? Salvation is by faith alone in Christ. The action behind our salvation is already done when Christ died on the cross, we just need to believe it and worship God because of that sacrifice. God doesn’t expect us to dress a certain way, speak a certain way, educate our kids in a certain way, or even eat a certain way before coming to Him. Let’s not keep people out by the rules we add.
God will help us get to that narrow door. Yes, we are told to strive for it, but God wants us there. He will lead the way. Let’s make sure our friends come with us (Matthew 28:19)!