The One Phrase to Squeeze Through the Narrow Gate
One message from Christ will help us know how to make it to heaven.
During college several years ago, my wife and I lived next door to my grandmother, who we all call “Nana.”
I accepted a 4-year Green to Gold Scholarship with the U.S. Army to commission as an Army Officer, and chose to get my degree in my home town–well, not quite my home town exactly. I graduated high school about 20 minutes. But details are details.
Living just stone’s throw away from my grandmother’s front door came with a lot of benefits. The obvious of which is spending time with her. There’ve been countless nights of sitting on her couch having long talks about God knows what, as her dog Pete bounced farts off the hardwood floor, occasionally clearing the room.
We occasionally talked about faith, too. As a former Catholic (I say former, but she would likely argue she still is if she had to pick), she has some several less than positive opinions about the Church and wasn’t shy about sharing them.
But on one remember one particular night, we spoke about the topic of salvation. It wasn’t anything against the Catholic Church this time, per se, but she said something that I believe resonates with a lot of people:
“I think we all generally will go to Heaven,” I remember her saying.
She further added that we’re not perfect, but she believes that we’ll all be there in due time. Barring anything extraordinarily bad or evil, of course.
Bless her heart for her optimism; one of the things I love about her. But I struggled buying into the idea.
This led me to ask myself, “Who will go to heaven? And how do we get there?”
I took the time to contemplate this idea; I dove through Holy Scripture and Church teachings. In doing so, one of Christ’s messages kept resurfacing, over and over again, and I believe it answers this question with clarity.
My reading and reflection started with Jesus as he tells us about the Narrow Gate in Matthew 7:13-14.
13* “Enter through the narrow gate;* for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.j
14 How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.”
Those who find the narrow gate are few, He says, the one with the road that leads to life. Similarly, as the Synoptic Gospels do, this kind of message is also found in Luke.
23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them,
24 j “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.k
25 After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’l
26 And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’
27 m Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where [you] are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’
28 n And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out.
Here, He even further adds that there will be wailing and grinding (some translations say gnashing, I prefer gnashing) of teeth for those who fail to enter.
While it might be quick to assume that these are the people that don’t follow Christ, the ones who deny Him, which tragically grow more in number by the day. I wouldn’t be so sure as to assume that it’s relegated to only them.
Christ addresses this later in Matthew 7:
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.n
22 Many will say to me on that day,o ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’p
23 Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you.* Depart from me, you evildoers.’q
As one who loves my non-Christian family and friends dearly, I earnestly would wish that what my Nana said was true and that most would go to heaven. I will continue to pray for them and for their conversion to the faith.
But the reality would suggest that even Christians may find themselves knocking at the locked door of the Master’s house, only later to learn that He “did not know them.” He’ll show them the other door to somewhere that I’d guess is warm, yet not tropical, with lots of wailing, lots of grinding (or gnashing), and many teeth.
So, what can we do to get through the narrow gate in Matthew–or door in Luke? Well, Jesus makes it clear throughout the Bible in the verses above and also in the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13).
We need to know Him.
And as the Gospel of Luke makes clear, it’s beyond just knowing him at a surface level. Even those who “ate and drank in His company” and were with Him in their streets didn’t make the cut.
Knowing Jesus is something that extends beyond believing in Him and acknowledgment of His existence. Even the demons that he exorcised knew of Him. It involves a deep, personal relationship with Him through faith, love, obedience, and ongoing conversion.
This is by no means easy; it’s one of the most difficult things to do–particularly for those living in the Western world. For those that do, it’s obvious that we live in a self-centered, materialistic culture. Two traits that are antithetical to a Christ-centered way of life.
Good things, like money, careers, luxury goods, and pleasures, can easily spiral out of control and turn into idols that pull us away from prioritizing His will above our own. And I’m just as guilty as anyone else.
So, what ways can we “know Christ” more? Here are 6 essential pillars on how:
Sacramental life. Engaging with Christ through His Sacraments that he gifted us with is essential.
Holy Scripture. Understanding His heart and desires for our lives through the New and Old Testaments.
Prayer and contemplation. Spending time with Jesus is crucial; set aside specific time each day to speak directly to him and mediate on the Mysteries of the faith.
Moral and ethical living. Living according to his Commandments and the Beatitudes is considered the “blueprint” for Christian living.
Communal and ecclesial life. The Church isn’t just a place we meet at on Sundays, it’s a community that we should actively participate in through broader activities and missionary work.
Works of mercy. Following Jesus’s teachings in Matthew 25 to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned, and more. The Catholic Church teaches both Corporal Works of Mercy and Spiritual Works of Mercy that I believe cover this exceptionally well, regardless of denomination.
In the end, we can’t be “Convenient Christians,” only living according to His will so far as it fits into our schedule that day or our desire of the moment. At least, we can’t as long as we want the wedge our way through that narrow gate and into His open arms.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,
Josh