The Narrow Door

Luke 13:22-30
22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Below is a story I wrote for a sermon on Luke 13:22-30. You can listen to the sermon here if you wish. 

Imagine a door. It's not a particularly beautiful door at first glance. It's rather well-worn and ordinary looking. The door is not large, it's in fact rather small and narrow. In fact, the door is so small and so narrow that to enter one must get down and his knees and leave everything else behind in order to crawl through.

But the door is also the only way into the King's Castle. And each day the king would stand by the door and call out,

Come one, come all, come big and come small,

Come to my banquet hall

Come to my place and share in my grace,

Come dine with me face to face.

And occasionally someone would hear the call of the King and gladly get down on his or her hands and knees and crawl through the door to enter the castle. And when they entered you could hear the cheer go up from within.

But most people took no notice of the King's call. They ignored his call and simply passed on by.

But the King still called.

Come one, come all, come big and come small,

Come to my banquet hall

Come to my place and share in my grace,

Come dine with me face to face.

One young man, head held high and chest puffed out, heard the call of the king and he readied himself to enter.

But then he saw the door.

"Where is the door for people like me?" he asked the King.

"People like you?"

"You know...people of pride...important people. I can't be expected to get down on my knees to enter!"

"That is the only way" replied the King.

Angry, the young man stomped away.

Again the King called,

Come one, come all, come big and come small,

Come to my banquet hall

Come to my place and share in my grace,

Come dine with me face to face.

A woman loaded with numerous shopping bags and adorned with beautiful jewelry heard the call of the King and she readied herself to enter.

But then she saw the door.

"I can't get through that door!" she said to the King.

The King calmly responded, "You can."

"I can, but not with all of my things! You surely don't expect me to leave all of those things out here, do you?"

"I do." the King responded. "You won't want or need those things once you enter anyway."

"I highly doubt that!" the woman shot back. And she left.

Once more the King called,

Come one, come all, come big and come small,

Come to my banquet hall

Come to my place and share in my grace,

Come dine with me face to face.

This time a young couple heard the call of the King and considered entering.

But instead they went to the King and said, "We want to enter, but if we enter the castle we'll never be able to live it up while we're young!"

"You won't miss out," replied the King. "There is far deeper joy inside than outside."

"I'm sure you think that's the case," they said, "but we'd rather not risk it."

And off they went.

Again the King called,

Come one, come all, come big and come small,

Come to my banquet hall

Come to my place and share in my grace,

Come dine with me face to face.

This time an older man heard the call and approached the King.  The man's hands were calloused from years of hard work and his skin was weathered from time in the sun.  The man spoke to the King and said, “I'll come through the door, but not just yet, there's work I need to do.”

“Now is the time to enter,” replied the King.

But the man shook his head and said, “I'll come in after I've done my work and deserve to come in.”

The King kindly looked at the man and said, “I've invited you. Your work can't make you worthy, only my invitation.”

Just then the man noticed some bushes that clearly needed to be trimmed…and off he went without another word.

At this time the King no longer called out His invitation to enter the castle, but He went inside and He closed the door. And inside the castle the King's banquet began. There had already been feasting and celebrating, but now an even greater feast began.

Meanwhile, outside of the castle a storm began raging. Those who had rejected the King's offer to enter thought, "Well surely the King will let me in now! After all, I did speak with Him that once."

So the young man, the woman, the couple, and the old man hurried back to the castle door and they knocked hard.

But the King's answer was the same to each of them, "The door will not be opened."