By Debby Giusti
Untitled by William Bossen via Unsplash
In today’s Gospel, we encounter Jesus making his way to Jerusalem. A throng of people surround him, drawn to the Christ who has cured the sick and fed the hungry. Someone in the crowd, perhaps feeling smug and a bit self-righteous, asks if only a few will be saved. Reading between the lines, I wonder if the questioner believed himself to be among the chosen. If so, the Lord’s response may have taken him by surprise.
“Enter through the narrow gate,” Jesus cautions. Did Christ’s admonition cause the man to turn away crest-fallen? Moments earlier, he had been eager to follow the Messiah of Miracles. Was he also willing to follow that same Messiah to the cross?
The scripture passage makes me consider my own life. Each day I am confronted with choices that lead me closer to Christ or pull me in the opposite direction. My goal is salvation, but whether I achieve that goal depends on the path I walk.
The world urges me along a route of pleasure and self-indulgence. It scoffs at morality and virtue and entices me to put myself first and others second. Do I follow the crowd or am I tuned to a different voice that calls me to seek a better way?
My daily decisions to follow in Christ’s footsteps seldom seem weighty or of great consequence, yet the Lord uses them for good. Making time to visit a lonely neighbor, cooking dinner for a family in need, comforting the grieving or providing a listening ear to the lonely and downtrodden are acts of service that keep me on the right path.
Jesus walked to Calvary. Am I willing to follow him? Will I forsake the way of the world and all that it entails and instead embrace the way of the cross? When I unite myself with Christ and allow him to guide me, only then will I find the narrow gate that leads to eternal life.
What path are you on?
About the Author:
Debby Giusti is a bestselling author of Christian suspense with more than ½ million books in print. Her work has won numerous accolades, including two Daphne du Maurier Awards for Inspirational Suspense and the National Readers’ Choice Award. A lifelong Catholic, Army wife and mother of three, Debby’s goal is to spread the love of Christ, one story at a time. Visit Debby: www.DebbyGiusti.com and https://www.facebook.com/debby.giusti.9
I am always grateful for these wonderful insites. Thank you all for sharing. I suggest with the upcoming elections we should put the letter from the Bishop of Denver in one of our blogs. Just a thought. God bless you all Karen Ferin :
Love this article! Thank you so much, Debby!!
Thanks, Gwen, for your sweet comment. Hope all is well!
Love and prayers!