22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.23 Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them, 24"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.(Luke 13:22-24)
My first attempt at college was an epic fail. (My mom hates it when I bring this up, but she isn't on the internet so, shhh...) I was 18, right out of high school, and consumed with the idea of starting a rock and roll band. Lacking maturity and any sign of self-discipline and living in a house with three other guys who also wanted to start a band, it was a recipe for disaster. I enrolled, paid my fees (well, may dad and Dolly Parton paid them--she funded a scholarship that I won), registered for my classes, and bought books. Everything was ready except me. Showing up for class was scary due to my insecurity in groups of unfamiliar people and staying there was tedious due to my very narrow attention span. College was turbulent, uncharted water--partying and making music with my close friends was my wheelhouse The result of my less-than-committed academic enterprise was a string of "Incompletes" that magically and tragically turned to Fs at the end of the term. I was jettisoned from campus at the end of the year for "failure to care." Simply being enrolled in school on your own terms with a low commitment to learning, and, applying yourself so that the experience can change you are two very different things.
This is one of those passages that is often interpreted through a narrow eschatological lens. (Sorry for the seminary word. Eschatological basically means related to end times or, if you will, heaven and hell issues for 21st century Christians.) As important as heaven and hell issues are, that will be then, and this is now. I don't believe Jesus came just to get us prepared for life after death, as important as that is. Jesus came to inaugurate the coming kingdom and get the ball rolling so that glimpses of the kingdom would start immediately appearing. His Sermon on the Mount not only delineated kingdom parameters, but actually began the transformational processes that those parameters are to create in the lives of Jesus' followers and, thus, in the lives of everyone within their circle of influence. That is, If we love our enemies, as Jesus commands, then our enemies will be changed and the people who observe will be changed.
A we try to makes sense of the troublesome passage it helps to remember that it comes on the heels of a confrontation with the religious elite who didn't like Jesus' new interpretations of the law. There were also many followers who were only in it for the miracles and others who were following from a distance, unwilling to get close enough to be changed (John 6:26, Luke 14:25-27). Undoubtedly, a lot of people had heard of Jesus as his reputation began spreading around Palestine. But, hearing about Jesus and even considering his teaching is not the same as committing to a transforming, kingdom-building journey. Jesus is using a little tough love to get the religious professionals to consider the people being hurt by their interpretations of the law and to help waffling followers come to grips with their indecisiveness and move closer. In the story of Jesus' exorcism of a demon from man we learn that even the demons knew who Jesus was, but they certainly had no intention of following him.
Today, we still have religious professionals who like to bind up people with the law. Also, their are lots of people know about Jesus and maybe have heard snippets about his life, and his death on a cross. Many people like his teachings and follow certain ones that seem appropriate and helpful. And to be sure, an effort to emulate Jesus by practicing his teachings will likely point us in a better life direction and have some sculpting effecting on who we are. But, Jesus doesn't want to just reshape our lives like an exercise regimen can reshape our bodies. Jesus wants to give us a heart transplant so that we can be kingdom-fit from the inside-out and able to live out the most difficult of his teachings allowing our lives to become transforming kingdom outposts. When we "enter through the narrow door" we open ourselves up to the great wide open of Jesus' salvation. We learn how big a word "saved" is and how it impacts us in so many wonderful ways on this side of the Jordan River and not simply (and mercifully) carrying us safely to the other side when our transplanted hearts stop beating.
Hear that? It's the bell. School's in session and Jesus is the teacher. The good news is that he is very patient, tells great stories, always brings snacks to share, and doesn't give grades. Participation is all that's required. Now, let's take a detour through that narrow door right there.
Blessings,
Larry
I wonder about the "heart transplant" metaphor, because sometimes it seems like "being saved" can be interpreted as a one-time experience, like a major surgery - replacing some broken piece. But it might be that daily changes in diet and exercise - the practice of compassion and active love - that brings about the saving. I don't want to downplay the transforming power of a single experience, but I wonder if, in the age of diet pills and dishwashers and the entire global web in our pockets, Christianity doesn't lean a little dangerously toward immersion in the culture of instant gratification?
ReplyDeleteThat's a little off-topic, but maybe I too am trying to downplay the troubling passage and talk about something else.
That paragraph about college was such prose that I got the brain-tingles.