Which way?

The way that leads away from the gate is difficult. We cannot determine that we are on the right road because of circumstances. Trials are a part of this way. We must walk by faith through our trials.

But we cannot determine that we are on the right road by faith alone. God gives faith; we may have faith even when we are on the wrong road. We cannot determine that we are on the right road by the works of faith that come through faith either.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'" Matthew 7:21-23

We will not find the way by what we believe alone; believing the right things is not enough. We are justified by faith alone; we are reckoned by God to be righteous by faith alone. But we can only find the way in obedience.

The narrow way is found in doing the will of the Father. The way that leads to the kingdom of God is found in keeping His word. The outward works of faith are not enough; the outworking of the gifts of the Spirit are not enough. If we are walking in lawlessness, He does not know us. We have another master; we do not serve Him. We will not have an inheritance in His visible kingdom.

No one will overcome without Christ being the Shepherd and Guardian of his soul. Without a Shepherd, we will stray. We will get ourselves lost.

The only way we can determine which way is His way is in obedience to His word. His word is a lamp to our feet; the Word lights the way immediately in front of us. If we are lawless, we are not on the right road. We have strayed, just as all sheep do without a shepherd.

Our lawlessness can serve a good purpose, just as the Law was meant to do. We can be calling Him "Lord, Lord"; we can believe that He is our Lord. But if we are lawless, our lawlessness is telling us that we do not have a Shepherd keeping our soul. We need to return to the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls; we need to forsake the master that does rule us, denying him obedience. We need to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first. While we may be confused about His kingdom, we are not confused about His righteousness. We have no excuses; our lawlessness is not His righteousness. Even we can tell the difference.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Him. This is not just at the point of justification; this is throughout our life. If we have another master, Jesus is not our way, our truth, or our life. He has been taken away by our neglect. But we cannot come to the Father without the Master we have abandoned.

The Christianity we have built emphasizes the outward. We want to think that the plagues of our soul can be hidden; we want to look at our outward success, not our inward lawlessness. We know what we believe is right; we call Jesus "Lord". But no one asks; no one tells. Lawlessness is the river that flows through our lives, and we pretend it is not carrying away those we love. Yet we are watching our favorite shows while a Category 5 is pounding the levees.

The way to the kingdom of God is found in doing the will of the Father; it is found in obedience in the small things. He who is faithful in little is faithful also in much. We can enter the kingdom of God; the will the Father can be done on earth.

He knows how to take me from here to there; I just need to follow the path that the Word lights for my feet today.