"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."

You ever buy something that looked great from the outside but turned out to be a disaster underneath? Maybe a used car that ran fine on the test drive but broke down a week later. Or a house that seemed perfect until you discovered the foundation was cracked. That's the problem with foundations. You can't always see what's holding things up until the pressure comes.

Jesus starts wrapping up the Sermon on the Mount with a warning we can't ignore. He's saying there are two gates in front of you right now, and you've got to choose. Here's what I need you to know. This isn't about finding the right gate because it's hidden somewhere. The narrow gate isn't hard to find. It's hard to choose.

Think about it like this. The wide gate is comfortable. It's got plenty of room for all your stuff. You don't have to leave anything behind. You can bring your pride, your unforgiveness, your selfishness, and your secret sins right through it. The crowd is going that way, so it feels safe. It feels normal. But Jesus says it leads to destruction.

The narrow gate is different. It's the gate of kingdom righteousness. It's everything Jesus has been teaching us. It's loving your enemies when you'd rather get even. It's going the extra mile when you're already exhausted. It's trusting God with your money when your bank account is low. It's forgiving people who don't deserve it. It's dying to yourself when the world tells you to look out for number one.

Can I just say something? You're not confused about where that narrow gate is right now. You know exactly what Jesus is asking you to do. You're just wrestling with whether you're willing to do it. The world says hoard, Jesus says give. The world says protect yourself, Jesus says serve others. The narrow gate goes against everything our culture tells us is normal.

Here's the thing about that narrow gate. It's narrow because sin made it that way. God didn't make the entrance small to keep people out. Sin made it small because you can't bring your sin with you through it. Something has to stay behind. And most people would rather keep their sin than walk through the gate.

So why does Jesus say few find it? Because it requires submission to His authority. And most people don't want that. They want Jesus as Savior but not as Lord. They want forgiveness but not transformation. They want heaven someday but comfort right now.

The narrow gate isn't just about getting into heaven when you die. It's about learning to walk in obedience today. It's about building your life on something that will actually hold when the storms come. And just like a farmer knows you can't plant seeds on hard ground and expect a harvest, you can't build a life on compromise and expect it to stand.

Tomorrow we'll talk about what happens after you walk through that gate, because choosing the right entrance is just the beginning. The path ahead requires you to recognize who's really leading you forward.

Identify one area of your life where you've been choosing comfort over obedience. Write it down. Then ask Jesus to give you the courage to walk through the narrow gate in that specific area this week.