The Road Not Taken
13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will know them by their fruits. 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?' 23 Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.' 24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell--and great was its fall!"
How do I know what road I am on?
Jesus plainly states the log in our own eye must be taken care of before we can see clearly. Jesus also offers some assurance just prior to these verses - "everyone who searches finds" (v. 8). Searching takes efforts. Self-reflection and change takes effort. But herein we find that the effort pays off eternally. We may not see the impact of our efforts in this life, but in the end those who act on Jesus' words will see eternal life.
There are a few things that stand out in this passage (as I indicated with underlining). The emphasis that the gate is narrow and few will find it has been told and re-told thousands of times over from pulpits near and far. Have we inadvertently missed the fact that the road is hard? There we have it - only a few people find it, and then only a few of those actually take it - it's hard! Being a Christian is not the easy way of life.
Beware of false prophets. Perhaps in context that might read beware of being a false prophet. Examine your fruit. Are we (me, you, that tv preacher, the preacher from the other church in town, etc.) false prophets? Fruit is a measurable outcome. Examine your fruit.
Listen to God. So often the question is raised about knowing what God wants "me" to do. How do we know? We listen. How do we listen? There's a variety of ways. At this point recommended reading would be "You Can Hear the Voice of God." The vast majority of humanity has never, and will never in their earthly lifetime, audibly hear God guiding them through life. The best way to hear God is to listen to God's Word, a.k.a. read and respond to the Bible. Walk on the Word. It is baffling how Christians can say they follow Jesus but they don't even know what Jesus said and did except by hearsay (e.g. the preacher said it so it must be true). This passage makes it quite clear we are individually responsible for acting in God's will or not once we have heard God's Word.
How do we know what road we are on? Here are some questions to ask. Ask them of yourself and take care of that log. Ask them of your congregation(s) and ministry settings. They are important questions to reflect on given the eternal weight Jesus puts on them.
Is your road a difficult one to travel?
Do you find yourself wondering if you're the only one traveling on it?
What fruit are you producing? Take inventory!
Are you hearing and acting on God's Word?