"And it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings he said unto his disciples: Enter ye in at the strait gate; for strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it; but wide is the gate, and broad the way which leads to death, and many there be that travel therein, until the night cometh, wherein no man can work."
3 Nephi 27:33
The idea of the strait gate and narrow way is an important one, helping us understand that is it important to be vigilant, and that there are many wrong paths to choose, veering off towards death/hell, but we want the one path to life/heaven. Part of the idea here is that walking with God isn't going to be easy. It's going to require change and growth and there is going to be discomfort and pain along the way. The wide path is often much easier... it just doesn't lead us where we want to go.
I think sometimes we get it into our heads that a narrow path means that we all have to be cookie cutter saints in order to walk it, but God invites everyone to walk it. We don't have to be clones to come unto Christ. We just have to walk the path, and even though God teaches all of us the same things, like faith, hope, love... we are all going to learn those lessons a little bit differently, often in a different order, and we're all going to have varying experiences and degrees of success along the way, because God is teaching us individually.
Today, let's remember that the way is narrow, but the variety of people walking it is not. All are alike unto God (2 Nephi 26:33), and welcome. Including me, including you. All of us. No matter how far outside the mainstream we think we are, God invites us to come unto him. He loves us, and he has his arms outstretched to save us, if we are willing to walk his path to find shelter. Let's accept his invitation, and stay the course.
3 Nephi 27:33
The idea of the strait gate and narrow way is an important one, helping us understand that is it important to be vigilant, and that there are many wrong paths to choose, veering off towards death/hell, but we want the one path to life/heaven. Part of the idea here is that walking with God isn't going to be easy. It's going to require change and growth and there is going to be discomfort and pain along the way. The wide path is often much easier... it just doesn't lead us where we want to go.
I think sometimes we get it into our heads that a narrow path means that we all have to be cookie cutter saints in order to walk it, but God invites everyone to walk it. We don't have to be clones to come unto Christ. We just have to walk the path, and even though God teaches all of us the same things, like faith, hope, love... we are all going to learn those lessons a little bit differently, often in a different order, and we're all going to have varying experiences and degrees of success along the way, because God is teaching us individually.
Today, let's remember that the way is narrow, but the variety of people walking it is not. All are alike unto God (2 Nephi 26:33), and welcome. Including me, including you. All of us. No matter how far outside the mainstream we think we are, God invites us to come unto him. He loves us, and he has his arms outstretched to save us, if we are willing to walk his path to find shelter. Let's accept his invitation, and stay the course.
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