Life in the Merging Lane

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Matthew 7:13-14

A wide gate and a broad road lead to destruction.

The life with a lot of latitude is often an undisciplined life lived on that broad road.

Jesus said it was a narrow gate and a narrow road that leads to life.

There is a lot of activity and a lot of companionship on the broad road but the narrow way is often traveled in a solitary fashion. There are times on that narrow road where it doesn’t even seem wide enough to accommodate walking two abreast. At those points wisdom knows to submit to His lead and follow Him along that narrow way. I often picture progress in our walk with God like being on a single lane highway that is merging down to a bicycle path and then a trail.

The road is narrow but as I progress it becomes even narrower.

What might have been acceptable as a young believer becomes a distraction or encumbrance for my walk as I mature. Please understand that it is not because God’s standards are becoming tighter but instead as I submit more and more to His will there is less and less of this world that appeals to me.

My focus is sharpened, my step quickens and my goal becomes His destination for my life. Viewing it as a merging lane helps me to better understand that as I mature there is less desire to wander aimlessly on a wide thoroughfare and a greater desire to be where He wants me to be at His appointed time.

That is what submission is all about.

Being where He wants me to be – at His appointed time – to do whatever He has for me to do. The merging lane illustration helps me to appreciate that where I am today is not necessarily where I will be tomorrow.

If you have passed through the gate that is Jesus and sincerely desire His Lordship in your life, understand that submission will restrict your travel to His path for you. That does not always ‘play well’ when we are only interested in being “unrestricted free agents”!

Then again, that’s not a person who is truly submitted, is it?