“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Recently, on weekday mornings, my nieces and nephew get dropped off to my home in the morning before school so that they can catch the bus to school with my children, their cousins. Their parents have busy jobs and are unable to drop them off to school late enough to arrive in time for supervision, and they are not allowed to wait at school any earlier unsupervised.
Needless to say, all of the children, both mine and my sister’s enjoy the novelty of the early morning ritual. They enjoy arriving in the morning, having a chat and preparing to catch the bus.
To get to the bus stop each day, the children have two ways of arriving. They can either walk across the park and cross the road, or they can jump into the car with me and I can drive them around the block and get them to the bus stop without any of the inconvenience of wet-sticky grass catching on their feet, or cold air freezing them first thing in the morning…
Now, if the children chose to walk to the bus stop, they will arrive much more quickly then if they are driven there because it is a more direct route, but it is far less comfortable a journey. If instead, I drive them there, they can sit in the airconditioned car and have a friendly chat while they are driven to their destination…
And I have been thinking about that drive today, because it reminds me of the path to salvation.
Saint Matthew wrote in the Gospel at 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
And this drive reminds me of that today… You see, the walking route is like the narrow gate. It is harder and less convenient. But the driving option allows the children to sit in comfort and arrive at their destination with minimal effort – though it takes must longer. And I have been thinking about that today because just like the walk is more difficult, so is the path to Heaven. The Saints took the walking route. It was a faster progression to holiness and salvation, but it was an uncomfortable one. And me – well, I have been driving around my whole life (and complaining along the way).
And I have been thinking about that today, because it has suddenly occurred to me that all the little inconveniences in my life – all the things I complain about as I am driving along – are just another way for my Beloved to allow me the opportunity to have a chance of reaching Heaven just a little bit faster.
And when I think about it like that, it occurs to me that sometimes – just sometimes – I should really chose to walk, not drive…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.