Thought for 1 July

Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus said: ‘You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate.  The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who would choose the easy way.  But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.’

I just heard on the news that today is the last day of practice prior to the open golf championship beginning at Troon tomorrow.  I’m sure the non-lovers of sport will be delighted to hear this following on from the Euros and Wimbledon. 

Usually, I would try to avoid any reference to sport because I realise it can be divisive and analogies like this can mean more to some than to others.  Despite this, I’m going to share a few of my personal experiences of golf and try and relate them to today’s words from scripture. 

Firstly, I would say I’ve tried this sport quite a few times during my life and found each of these experiences incredibly frustrating.  This is what comes with being worse than ‘not very good’ at this particular pastime.  You stand on the tee and can usually see the green with the wee flag on it in the distance and between the tee and the green, there is usually a fairly wide area of short grass called the fairway.  The idea is that it you can’t hit the ball so that it lands on the exceptionally short grass on the green, you land it on the fairway which makes your next shot easier.  Despite it seeming relatively easy to land the ball on the short grass, mines always seemed to find much longer grass, gorse bushes, bunkers and any wee burns or ponds that were around.  When you see the good players managing only to take between three and five strokes and the rest of us taking a lot more, it can be enough to make you give up.  Some would say it’s just a waste of a good walk. 

Sometimes in golf, the hole you want to end up at isn’t visible from the tee and all you have to aim at is a marker.  The gateway to life as per today’s reading, which is part of the sermon on the mount, isn’t visible to any of us, it is something we need to be and that something is a disciple of Jesus.  For those who seek to enter by the narrow gate, being a disciple of the Lord is all we need to be.  For those who seek the broad gate, being a disciple of Jesus is not enough for them.  They spend their lives looking for something else whether it be riches, recognition, position, status or fame.  

It is interesting that some who would call themselves Christian might look at others and judge whether they will get to heaven when the time comes.  For folks like this and this might at times include you and me, we need to remember the type of people that Jesus cared for during his ministry like the lepers he healed, like the woman about to be stoned for her sins, like the tax collector, like the thief on the cross.  It will not be like an exclusive club that only admits members if they tick certain ‘man-made boxes’.  The narrow gate will admit disciples of Jesus who have come to trust in him despite everything life has thrown at them, despite all the traps, obstacles and hazards, by holding to the risen Lord. 

Prayer – Heavenly Father, Bless us with the faith, endurance and love to follow you on the path where you lead, although it can be a challenging and narrow path being your disciple.  Help us to reject sin and trust in your grace alone, doing the right things in the right manner and pleasing you to obtain your grace and favour  Amen.