The Narrow Gate

For many students, graduation is just around the corner – and with it comes many questions about what our next steps should be. As a faculty member, I’ve heard from students across the spectrum, some having already secured their post-graduation job, others still not even sure where to begin.

One common source of anxiety I encounter among people of faith is the desire to “make the right choice.” Maybe that’s you right now, or that will be you in a year or two. With so many potential options in front of us – whether it’s a full-time job, gig work to make ends meet, or taking some time off – which path should we take that honors God?

I want to encourage you that the answer might be: All of them.

Matthew 7:13-14 says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.” (HCSB)

Too often, I fear these verses are misinterpreted to suggest that there’s only one, narrow path that we need to take in order to make it to salvation. This drives many towards an anxiety-inducing approach to everyday decision-making, especially when it comes to big decisions about one’s future career.

I say this may be a misinterpretation because of the context of the verses. Jesus is speaking in the Sermon on the Mount to a diverse audience, but making a point throughout to contrast the Jewish laws that people were accustomed to following with His commandments. As many of us believers know, the overall thread of the purpose of Matthew, and much of the New Testament, was to challenge the existing hyper-fixation on laws and works-based righteousness, instead relying exclusively on faith and grace for salvation.

In fact, immediately prior to verses 13-14, Jesus says, “Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them – this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12).

Here’s my point: The narrow gate Jesus refers to is the one and only law we must follow, the Golden Rule as we now know it in modern society. From that law comes all the other laws we follow, not because it earns our salvation, but because we have been saved already.

Once we follow the law of Jesus, we are in the narrow gate – and in that narrow gate, there is freedom (2 Cor. 3:17; John 8:36; Gal. 5:1 ). This means that we have freedom to choose, when faced with some hard decisions about what to do after graduation, where to move, what to invest our time in. We have room to make our own decisions, in faith, lifting it all up in prayer, but knowing that we will not “fail God” or “disappoint Him” if we make the “wrong choice.”

Verse 14 also tells us that the narrow gate is difficult. Sometimes, that means we take the path less trodden and pursue a career that may be demanding, tiring, and lead to few tangible immediate rewards.

Other times, it simply means that the process itself of choosing our next step is difficult.

So to everyone facing the difficult question of what to do next as you step across the graduation platform in a month (or 13 months, or 25 months)… have faith knowing that if your truest desire is to follow Christ and honor Him, you will not make a wrong choice.

AUTHOR
Steven Zhou
Alumnus, BA and MA from Pepperdine University,
Master's of Divinity from Western Seminary, and PhD from George Mason University.
Assistant Professor of Psychological Science at Claremont McKenna College