Words have meaning. We know this must be true, because everybody says it. The problem is that people typically give weight to the words they want to hear, and minimize the meaning of the words they don’t want to hear.

I suppose there is no other place that this truth is epitomized as it is in the way people react to Jesus’ words in His Sermon on the Mount, and especially in the following passage:

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

It was Jesus who said that few would find the road that leads to life, andit was Jesus who said that many would take the road that leads to destruction... but what do men teach? They teach that there are many paths to life. In fact, one of the most popular doctrines in all religion is that “we are all going to the same place, just by different paths”.

It’s a pleasant sentiment, to be sure. For those who believe that pleasant sentiment, consider this: Words have meaning!

And, Jesus’ words contain the meaning of life!

It was Jesus who said there are only two paths. It was Jesus who said that only a few would find the road to life. Yet, most people dispute His words. Why? Is it because they don’t believe He really said what He said…or is it because they simply do not want to believe what He said?

Answer this question: Do you believe that Jesus’ words have meaning? If not, don’t bother with Christianity, because you don’t really believe in the Word of God or in the words of Jesus. But, if we do believe in Their words and we believe that Jesus was accurate and truthful about the path to life when He said, “few will find it”, then what can we do? What if we don’t find the path? What if we are sincerely seeking the path but cannot find it? What then?

Jesus has already provided the answer, and He provide that answer just a few verses earlier. In Matthew 7:7, He said, “seek and you will find”. As if that wasn’t enough, He said it again in verse 8. Further, in Luke13:24, He told us how to do it. He said, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door”.

So, now, we have this: Few will find the path to life. Why? Since He guaranteed that everyone who seeks will find, it can only be because most will not seek – or because those that do are only making a half-hearted effort.

But, not you! You are taking your time to read a private Bible study because you really want to know! Let me encourage you to check out these passages – and every other relevant passage you can find. Check out the entire contexts, not just the brief quotes I have provided. Start reading your Bible every day. Determine for yourself whether it teaches a doctrine of “many paths” or if it teaches of one broad and one narrow path. Then, do something about your new-found knowledge because words truly do have meaning – especially God’s words!

Start making every effort to seek – because Jesus’ words have meaning.

And they have life.

And you are going to find it… if you choose to.

But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deuteronomy 4:29, NIV

“Oil and water do not mix” Old proverb

Have you ever wondered why people do not like you when you are minding your own business? What is it that makes people whom you don’t even know want to question you as to what you believe and, when they find out, makes them not like you?

For example, have you noticed how people who believe in abortion don’t like you if you think it’s wrong? Ironic, isn’t it, that people who call themselves “pro-choice” get really mad when your choice differs from theirs! Why is that?

“The wicked detest the upright” King Solomon

That’s the reason. People who want to do bad don’t like people who want to do good, any more than people who want to do good like people who do bad. It’s because oil and water don’t mix.

Still, we live in a world with both those who like to do good and those who like to do evil. God does this so that the folks who want to do good can influence the people who want to do bad. When you think about it, it’s the same reason that God gives two year olds parents. A toddler just wants to do whatever he wants to do. That’s generally okay, but there are some things that are bad for toddlers so parents, meddlesome creatures that we are, attempt to prevent these tyros from bringing harm to themselves.

In this world, drunks are dangerous. So are thieves, and murderers, and rapists and abortionists. But the people who like these types of behavior don’t want to hear that they are not okay – so instead of disliking the evil that they do, they dislike those who tell them that their behavior is evil.

That’s why the wicked do not like the righteous – their unrighteous oil just doesn’t mix with righteous water. God told us that, years ago, before people even knew that oil and water do not mix. He put is this way:

Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.

Proverbs 28:5, RSV