The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 7:13-14 (day three)

“The gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Everything about Jesus runs counter to your expectations. Little is much, servanthood is greatness, the poor are celebrated, and now this. Does everything have to be counterintuitive? It’s only that way because you’ve been told that there’s safety in numbers: lots of dollars, lots of people, lots of admiration, lots of publicity, lots of approval. That way of life links security to external factors, though. That way of life tells you that there’s nothing worth much on the inside, so you’ve got to prop yourself up with whatever you can grab. But Jesus says you don’t need a Las Vegas-style entryway to convince you of your value. You’re already worth much to God, so come on towards him through the little gate.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 7:13-14 (day two)  

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Are you a fan of the Indiana Jones series? Well, I certainly am, and my favorite of them all is “The Last Crusade”. At the end of the movie, and I hope I’m not spoiling this, Indy has to face various trials in order to reach the Holy Grail. The scene cuts between Indy and his dying father. The trial is called “The Breath of God” and the father keeps muttering the phrase “only the penitent man will pass”. Indy realizes that a penitent man is humble before God and must, therefore, bend the knee. I will stop there, as it is a work of fiction.

As I re-read verse 14, I am struck by the visual image Jesus creates. Small and narrow are the words he chooses. If we take this idea of someone looking for these gates, you get two different pictures. The broad gate is easy to find. You don’t have to look hard, you will practically run in to it. The small, narrow gate requires you to seek after it. Jesus’ words create a picture, in my mind, of one who is humble, penitent, aware that something will be required for entry through this gate. The requirement is our very self. We must be prepared to humble ourselves and search for the untrodden path. Jesus will be found when we are penitent of heart.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 7:7-11 (day seven)

Knock, and it will be opened to you.

God has not provided a salvation which can only be understood by learned men […] it is intended for the ignorant, the short-witted, and the dying, as well as for others, and hence it must be as plain as knocking at a door. – Spurgeon

Just Knock! Anyone can do it. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to be a minister or have a degree from a seminary. You don’t even have to know what you are going to say. God just wants you to come as you are and knock at His door. Your willingness to seek His company is enough for Him to bring you in and give you a seat at His table. At the table, you will find what you need was already plated in front of you before you sat down, for He knows what you need before you ask (Matt 6:8). No matter how beat up or how unworthy you feel, He will always come to let you in. So Just Knock!

 

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 7:7-11 (day six)

At the time, many likely viewed God as indifferent to their life and needs, or worse, that he was only interested in keeping track of their misdeeds. Jesus’ words were intended to be paradigm-shifting: much like a father, God cares and is fully invested in your life.

I imagine his listeners had far more questions about that than whether or not we will get everything we ask for.

Jesus was not introducing a formula for getting what we want out of God; he was describing the kind of relationship we can have with God.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 7:7-11 (day five)  

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” The Greek tense of the verbs in our ReVerse passage carry the meaning of a continual action. Ask, and then keep on asking (seek, knock).  The English language leaves that out. The original readers would have picked up on this verb tense. With it, comes the idea of urgency, intensity, and frequency. Jesus then illustrates His point by depicting a child engaging with his dad, asking for bread then fish. Jesus will later say “unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.“ (Matthew 18) Oh, that our relationship with God would be described like that. Am I determined and desperate (like a child) to understand, hear from, and trust my Heavenly Father? 

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 7:7-11 (day four)

There is much about Christianity that involves mystery. There are some things about God, the universe he created, and the spiritual reality we live in that are too great for us to understand. 

But at the same time, we also serve a God who knows us and wants to be known by us. He invites us to know him here. What grace, that the eternal God of the universe desires for us to know him like this! 

Having trouble loving your neighbor? Ask God what he loves about them. He loves to answer that question. Having a hard time knowing God’s plan for your life? Seek how God is already moving – we see it through Scripture, in history, and the movement of the Spirit around us. He doesn’t hide his will from us. Need somewhere to run with your anxieties and fears? Knock on God’s door – he has an open door policy and he’s ready to receive you.

Though there is mystery, our Lord wants to make himself known to you. Ask, seek, knock. He’s ready for you.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 7:7-11 (day three)

“Knock, and it will be opened to you.”

A slamming door, a closed sign, a missed deadline – what has it been like for you when you’ve experienced these things? Just thinking about those descriptions can evoke anxiety or dejection or panic. To miss out, to be left out, to be thrown out, to feel like you’re not cut out or that you don’t stand out – these are among life’s hardest circumstances because they can invite you to believe that you don’t amount to much. On the other hand, when someone recognizes you, opens up to you, desires your company, and confides in you, a sense of welcome, worth, encouragement, and hope begins to rise in you. God doesn’t slam doors, but opens them, Jesus reveals. To you. You’re so used to finding them closed that it might take you a while to notice.

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 7:7-11 (day two) 

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! vs. 11

Jesus addresses an interesting dichotomy that exists in our very nature. The first is our sin nature. Make no mistake, we are sinners. Born under the curse of sin, none of us is born righteous. This flies in the face of any modern sensibility. You will hear people speak of human nature as basically good, and you know they are not speaking from a Christian worldview. Our bent is to sin and self-preservation.

In our sin nature, however, we are also wired with the capacity to love. We are especially wired to care for our children. We share this with virtually every species on the planet.

What separates us from the rest of creation is our capacity to recognize our sin nature. Jesus uses this ability to reason to help us look around. If we, even in our fallen state, will care for our children: If we, see God as not only creator, but sustainer: If we then, see God as providing for us as his children, we can rest in his care and provision.