“For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:14).
The Lord has called us to follow Him, which means we have to walk on the narrow path. The path is guaranteed to be a hard one, since we will face temptations from the world that treads the wide path and from ourselves. However, if we manage to endure the trials, marching towards being more like God, we will receive “the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award… to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).
One of the hardest roadblocks to overcome on the path is that of unity. Unity is often neglected by just avoiding the person you have a disagreement with. “It’ll be fine,” we tell ourselves, “Since we can’t agree, we will just do our own thing.” However, the Scripture tells us to have “the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (Philippians 2:2). We must deny ourselves and be willing to not always do things our way. Not to say we must compromise beliefs, but rather come to a common union. We must seek to look past one another’s faults as well.
Another challenge of walking the royal path is ourselves. Oftentimes, we may find ourselves in sin, or being tempted, or just plain busy. However, in spite of these things, we must remember the calling of the Lord, and call upon Him to help us. The best way to walk the path is by not stopping and looking ahead. While obvious, we ought to remind ourselves, as we may often want to look at the nearby sights, which may cause us to stumble.
The only way to stay on the path, until we reach the destination, is by God’s grace. We must remember that it is always freely given, and no matter how bleak it is, we may always call and receive. We must dedicate every aspect of our lives to God, with fullness of heart wanting to respond to His calling. If we “In all [our] ways acknowledge him, [then] he will make straight [our] paths” (Proverbs 3:6).
