Friday Reading: Matthew 7:12-14
Key Verse: Matthew 7:14
14 Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
14 Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Devotion:
Life is so busy! We are caught up in it. We can't get away from it... Or at least it gets to feel like that sometimes. Sometimes we crave to step off the merry-go-round and have a rest for a while. Sometimes we are able to and look back and wonder how we ever got caught up in it all. But when we are in the middle of it, we live for it; we don't notice just how much we are caught up in it until we find ourselves too tired to continue!
Life is so busy! We are caught up in it. We can't get away from it... Or at least it gets to feel like that sometimes. Sometimes we crave to step off the merry-go-round and have a rest for a while. Sometimes we are able to and look back and wonder how we ever got caught up in it all. But when we are in the middle of it, we live for it; we don't notice just how much we are caught up in it until we find ourselves too tired to continue!
We may be able to compare life to things such as merry-go-rounds, fairs and even computer games. Christ had a very simple analogy that struck home. When you are too busy with life, you will probably not see the narrow gate as you run past it and will follow everyone else through the wide gate. But if we stop to take account of things, we will have time to see the narrow gate and choose it correctly.
Each one of us has that choice to make. We can continue running the rat-race and ignoring things such as our health and other people, or we can stop a while and see what is actually going on. When we stop to think and look around, we are going to find a whole new world; one where we can see the right choices to make, one where we can see others who need help, one where we have time to make important decisions!
Making those decisions and helping others to see which decisions are correct is so much more important than running with the crowd. Not only will we be able to do what is right, but we will be able to help others in that choice too. If we want others to be doing what is right, we need to start the ball rolling in the right direction by stopping to push it in the wrong direction in the first place!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you stop to think?
How often do you compare what you do with what is righteous?
How often do you stop to think?
How often do you compare what you do with what is righteous?