December 18, 2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1.27)

“Enter through the narrow gate because the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction. Sadly, many enter through it, journey on it and find the sorrow of their venture.  But it does not have to be so with you. Do not fear the gate that is small and the road that is narrow which leads to the life that is abundant and eternal in its blessing. Sadly, only a few may find it, but oh that more so would and be at peace.” (Matthew 7.13-14)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Isn’t it the way of things? We grow fearful of the unknown; that is, what we cannot see and what we do not understand. Those who have watched more than one horror movie will catch themselves at certain times in a movie thinking silently or out loud “Don’t go in the room; don’t open that door; don’t go around that corner.” We know that evil lurks in those places and yet when they are finally presented we are still afraid. We know the movie isn’t real. But there are times in our daily lives where the situations bear a strange resemblance and we apply prior knowledge to current circumstances. We find ourselves saying, “It could happen!” It makes me wonder is it because God is “unseen and unknown” to people that He is unbelievable to them? Or is it because they are afraid of believing because they apply prior knowledge of danger that rose up out of what was not seen or understood to God? Why even in the birth narrative of Jesus, we find examples of this. Mary’s experience of the sudden appearance of Gabriel brought a sense of fear and awe. Her prior experience with life in the Temple had taught her to be more wary of those who said they were religious and believers in God than one whose appearance said “I am of the stuff religions and beliefs are made of.” But, less than a year later in Bethlehem, the shepherds were approached by an angel in much the same manner. They fell to the ground believing that death was inevitable even though they did not know why. They were merely afraid, they were “sore” afraid. They were so frightened that it hurt to the very fiber of their being. Mary saw life. The shepherds saw death. They both saw the presence of God in a messenger form filled with glory, hope and truth.

So, for many it is understandable that living in the wide open spaces with a vista-vision that could see things coming from hundreds of miles away by land, sea or air is a “safe” choice. It gives us plenty of time to prepare for what is coming next. But, such thinking appeals to so many that soon the horizon is filled with next door neighbors. Our six hundred and forty acres gets reduced to a quarter of an acre or 1000 square feet. The truth becomes obvious to us that we then know more about what is around us than what is in us. We find ourselves once again travelling narrow roads called hallways and turning unsuspected corners even when we have turned them many times before. Is that a line from Walter Gibson’s “The Shadow”… what evil lurks in the heart of men; the Shadow knows. Well, I don’t know about the true extent of the power fictional characters might have over me regardless of how real they may appear. I do know that true extent of the power of El Shaddai. Yes, I know that El Shaddai does not mean “shadow.” I know it refers to “The God of the Mountain.” It is El Shaddai whose “shadow” falls protectingly over us and provides us with all that is needed to live a life fulfilled and without fear. We should long to dwell “in the shadow of the Almighty.” In contrast to the mountain, that wide open space seems more like the scary place so big I can’t see everything all at the same time. But, to focus on the mountain of God, the mountainous God, our El Shaddai, does offer a sense of awe and wonder, peace and calm. It also speaks to us of the narrow road and the singular journey which we are all invited to go on throughout life.

Now we can hear this teaching from Jesus in a focus light as He said “Do not fear the narrow gate which opens on to a narrow road.” It is the word of a shepherd who understands fully the value and reality of the mountain journey. We must take life one step at a time, one day at a time, one situation at a time, one thought at a time, one way at a time, one truth at a time and one life at a time. We cannot take the whole world with us on the journey. Even if we tried, it would take the proverbial village as our sherpas to carry everything one person and one load at at time. Imagine, just for our own interest, we make ourselves the vested interest of others to serve us. That is not the life which Jesus called us to be and to do. He said, “I have not come into the world to be served but to serve.” Jesus’ first and greatest service was to God. Jesus shared in the vision and purpose of God for His own life which was to bring God’s people back to Him. Jesus knew He was going to take on, all by Himself, the burdens of the world which keep God’s people from being the people of God. For Jesus, we might say the narrow gate was the Garden of Gethsemane where He went to pray following the defection of Judas of Kerioth. The gate of sacrificial opportunity to put faith in action as never before led to the narrow road uphill through Jerusalem to Golgotha and Calvary’s mountain. It would eventually led back to El Shaddai in the heights of Heaven where He would rest in the “shadow of the Almighty” but gloriously so. Isn’t this the real message of Christmas, mighty ones of God? To not fear the narrow road and singular mindset of the will of God for our lives. Isn’t it to trust in the only way, in the only truth and in the only life that results in the only goal we should truly want for ourselves and for others? We need to narrow our focus, refine our vision and trust in the Word of God by faith and not by sight.

PRAYER IN LIGHT OF GOD’S WORD:

Father, You have revealed to us best in Jesus the Christ. By Him and Him alone shall we gain this eternal life and our place in eternal rest, living for You always. Show us more and by Your Holy Spirit instruct us in the way we should go, the truth we should reveal and the life we shall live with you forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.