Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. Matthew 7:13 NIV

By Scott Schuler

How often do we ask the question: “How did I end up here?”

It’s easy to fill in the “here” blank: job, relationship, financial situation.

As young adults my four buddies and I believed we could own the world and set out to prove it, climbing the corporate ladder in the quickly expanding fitness industry. As we worked hard to accumulate titles, accolades and possessions, it seemed there was nothing we couldn’t do.

Five years into my reign as a regional leader, I was enjoying all the material possessions, relationships, travel and parties a young man could desire. The future appeared bright and infinite.

But, deep down within me, there was something missing.

I began to search for something to fill the void that I sensed inside. But I wasn’t sure where to start. How often do we search out in the world for something to fill the deep voids within our heart?

On a whim I started going to church, simply because I didn’t know what else to do. Over time I began reading and studying God’s Word, trying to make sense of it all. That’s when I read one of the Old Testament books written by Solomon, King of Israel, who the Bible explains was the wisest man to ever live. In Ecclesiastes 1:14 NIV, Solomon summed up my own futile pursuit for life’s answers:

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

His words refer to the worldly experiences we encounter in our search for purpose or meaning on the broad road, or wide path that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13). I realized that this had been the path that I was traveling all those years.

What could the wide path look like in everyday life? For me, it was putting career, possessions and relationships before God. For others it might include satisfying personal ambition over loving others or even allowing religion to become more important than relationship with Jesus.

We are at risk of walking the wide path when we love anything or anyone else more than we love God.

As I continued to read, Solomon ended with this, here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind (Eccl. 12:13 NIV). Suddenly all that I was striving for seemed pointless. Solomon’s words gripped me and shook me awake! This was where I met Jesus and gave my life to Him.

God is the powerful, creator of heaven and earth. But He also wants us to walk in relationship with Him as a personal, loving Father. God knows that, if we follow His instructions laid out in the Bible, it will free us from our struggles on the wide path and lead us to rest in His peace. But He gives us the option to choose our path. Why?

Because faith is not about rules, it’s about relationship with Jesus.

It took me years to understand this truth, but now I have an abundant life with Jesus because I chose to step off the wide path that was quickly leading to my destruction – never getting to know the love of God I now see every day.

What are some ways you’ve found to stay off the wide path? Share your thoughts.

 

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