narrow the gate

we enter the kingdom of heaven through a narrow gate.




the path to destruction is wide and many go that way.






i guess what we have to ask ourselves is what is the kingdom of heaven and what is the path to destruction?


jesus was clear about the way to the kingdom of heaven. it's to treat your neighbor the way you want to be treated.... and have we done that?

do we think of every person as if they were jesus?

is every child a child of god?

the kingdom of heaven is not the kingdom of america.

many nations have claimed to be christian nations.

the spanish inquisition and apartheid were both promoted by nations that claimed to be christian.









so many people get on the bandwagon of right once the battles are over.

abolitionists were hated. 

they were beaten and sometimes killed. they were breaking the law of the land. our forefathers meant for there to be slavery.

it's nice to think that we would be on the side of right.... but it was a narrow gate. the crowded path was taken by those who either benefited from slavery or those who didn't think it was any of their business. 

the wide road was the one where people were too busy with their own life to care about what happened to those oppressed by their own country's laws.

it led to the kind of thinking that is anathema to the kingdom of heaven.

the kingdom of heaven is about brotherhood.

the christmas truce of 1914, a time when soldiers put down their weapons, sang songs and shared meals and stories, resulted in a relocation of those men. it was a dangerous precedent for soldiers to recognize the humanity of their enemies.

the kingdom of heaven is dangerous.

the path to war and violence is wide and many go that way.

we can't wait until it's easy to enter the kingdom of heaven.

it will never be easy.

we actively oppose actions that harm oppressed peoples.

if it's wrong, it's wrong... 

the underground railroad broke the law....

families were torn apart by slavery.

and it was legal.




the kingdom of heaven is never about hate.

the narrow gate will be lonely and will take courage when we must walk alone.








he has told you, oh man, what is good; and what doth the lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly before your god.

micah 6:8

that's a pretty narrow gate.