THE NARROW PATH (PART 1)

MATTHEW 7:13–14 (ESV)

“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.”

The narrow path is not crowded. It is not easy, and it is not something you drift into. It is something you choose. That is why Jesus says, “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life.” There are always two directions before you, and both lead somewhere.

Many are called, but few actually walk this path, because “the gate is wide and the way is easy” is always there, always pulling people back into what is familiar, comfortable, and temporary. And when you begin to walk away from what God has called you to, you are not standing still, you are moving back toward that road.

That is why coming back matters.

Because coming back is not just about location, it is about direction. It is choosing again to step onto what God has set before you, even if it costs you something.

And often, what pulls you away is not always obvious. It can be a lack of love. A drift in how you treat others. A distance growing between you and God. Small things that, over time, begin to shift your direction.

This is where it becomes real, because if you want to walk the narrow path, you cannot carry everything with you.

You have to let God deal with what is beneath the surface.

Especially when it comes to things like anger. Because anger is rarely just about the moment, it is rooted deeper. And if you only deal with what is on the surface, nothing truly changes.

You have to allow God to deal with the root.

That means bringing it to Him. Not holding it, not managing it on your own, but giving it over and allowing Him to work in it.

Because real change does not come from behaviour alone, it comes from transformation.

And that is where identity comes in, because you are not trying to become something on your own, you are stepping into what God has already made available through Christ.

A new creation.

Not patched up, not slightly improved, but made new.

And this is where meekness is often misunderstood, because meekness is not weakness. It is strength that is under control. It is choosing to respond differently, even when you have the ability to react.

It is a sign of transformation.

This brings it to one clear place, because “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life” means this path will require surrender. You cannot walk it while holding onto what pulls you back, and you cannot walk it without allowing God to change what is within you.

Because the narrow path will cost you something…

but it will also give you something the broad road never can.

Life.

And when you choose it, not once but daily, allowing God to deal with what is in you, walking in love, and living from the new life He has given you, you will not just be someone who knows about the path…

you will be someone who is actually walking it.