Croissants, dumplings, Thai pork curry, and all sorts of scrumptious cuisine. These delicious fares and more await those who find the Narrow Door Café and venture in.
The Narrow Door Café in Tainan, Taiwan, is every bit a hole-in-the-wall; the entrance is barely 15 inches wide! One blogger describes: “Once into the opening, you’ll have to skinny your way about 50 feet to the stairs. From there, you’ll climb the graciously wide 24-inch stairway to the second floor. That is, unless you encounter someone coming the other way, in which case someone needs to retreat and start over.”
We read of another “narrow door” in Luke’s gospel. It’s used as a figure of speech and not a literal opening. A person had asked Jesus in essence, “Will the saved be few?” but Jesus turned it around to ask, “Will the saved be you?” He challenged the individual to “work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom” (Luke 13:24) because the door will one day be closed; and once closed, it will remain so for eternity.
The Scriptures reveal that salvation in Jesus is a gift, received by the free and unmerited favor of God through faith—not based on our own effort. So what does it mean to “work hard”? Like the Narrow Door Café, where one needs to strive to enter, similarly we don’t drift into faith in Jesus. The Holy Spirit draws us to Him and reveals our need for salvation, but we must actively receive Him as our Savior.
Have you entered the narrow door to God’s love and forgiveness? Do you have a personal, growing relationship with Jesus, or is it simply superficial? (Luke 13:26-27). The door is narrow, but it’s wide open right now. Don’t delay. Call out to Jesus and confess your need for Him. He’s opened the door for you!
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Luke 2:41-52
More:
Read Ephesians 2:5-10 and consider how God has reached out to you by His grace.
Next:
How can we know that we’ve entered through the narrow door? How can salvation be a free gift simply received and yet still require our response?
Gary Shultz on June 14, 2016 at 5:42 am
Poh Fang, it is good to be reminded of the initial path to faith, the “narrow door”. We are responsible to press to the “narrow door” and answer the call of God to our hearts. God offers it all; however there is a response required, the repentant work of faith. It has all been done, press to Him. We need to make others aware of that door as you have done today. Thank you Poh Fang
gagirllive on June 14, 2016 at 7:28 am
Great devo, Poh Fang. I love the gospels. We have the advantage and gift of the Holy Spirit to bring understanding of God’s word, but Jesus spoke to them in word pictures, parables, and the like to bring them revelation. This “narrow door” illustration must have really gotten their attention. To the contrary, them being Jews, they probably thought the door was wide open for them to enter into the Kingdom by striving to keep the law. They didn’t understand the required restrictions of faith and repentance, and certainly grace was a foreign concept to them. Too many people still don’t get it today. I’m amazed at the “easy-believism” that is taught from pulpits today. Just to believe in the person of Jesus is not enough. We must RECEIVE Him and His finished work of grace that He secured for us on the cross. One of my favorite verses of assurance is John 1: 12…”But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” Sadly, “receiving” Him is that narrow door that many find too hard to enter. Thank you, Poh Fang, for bringing us this crucial truth today. Grace and peace to all!
Tim Gustafson on June 14, 2016 at 7:41 am
Excellent instruction this morning, and what a sober warning! Jesus said so many challenging things. We do well to ponder them carefully as you have.
Also, I want to visit this cafe, but I don’t think it’s near my time zone. 🙂
hsnpoor on June 14, 2016 at 10:59 am
I was thinking exactly the same thing, Tim! Don’t know about you, but this café has earned a place on my “bucket list”. After all of the striving to get there, the food better be just shy of heavenly! I love the description too of how the entrance starts out narrow, but gradually widens until, I assume, you find yourself in a spacious place. Sounds like a little bit of heaven on earth, huh? Thank you, Poo Fang for sharing the info on this café, but more importantly emphasizing how we must ACTIVELY RECEIVE Jesus as our Savior and, might I add, more actively receive and bow before Him as Lord. Don’t know about anyone else, but I know I eagerly accepted him as Savior, but it took a while for me to understand, acknowledge and accept that wasn’t the end of the road because He was and is and always will be the Lord of those whom have accepted his gift of salvation.
elegantstarr1 on June 14, 2016 at 12:14 pm
Wonderful eye-opening devotional Poh Fang. Thank you for reminding us that we must strive to gain entrance through that narrow door. I still have work to do because I want to be in that number when the saints go marching in to meet around the throne.
Like Tim and hsnpoor, I’m also interested in visiting the café. Thanks Poh Fang, for that info as well.
gagirllive on June 14, 2016 at 2:40 pm
Hi, elegantstarr1. There is something about your comment that makes me want to dig a little deeper with you. It may just be the way you worded it, but you do understand that we are not striving for entrance into the kingdom, right? I think Poh Fang did a beautiful and thorough job of breaking down what Christ meant here, but I will just reiterate by saying that Jesus is the Door. He makes this clear in John 10: 7. We don’t strive or work for our salvation. It is a gift of God’s grace. I think the striving here is about being earnest about salvation. It’s a serious and sobering business. So many people think that it is a wide door…come any way you want. Access to God is not an “any route will do” way. There is only One Way…that’s what makes it a narrow way. When you stated that you “still have work to do”, bells went off in my head. I trust that you understand that Christ has done ALL the work necessary for you to enter in AND be kept in. We don’t enter by grace and stay kept by performance. This sure salvation is what we must “receive” by faith. This, in fact, is what is so difficult for people to receive. They would rather live self-assured lives with false hope because they rely on their self-righteousness to gain them access to God. This is especially true of religious people. They are familiar with Jesus, yet don’t know Him. Like the excuses given in the scripture passage, they “eat” with Jesus and listen to His teachings, but they have never received Him. So close, but yet so far away. May our striving be that we truly know Him…that we have received His gift of salvation by faith alone and that we live lives that bear the fruit of that salvation. Didn’t mean to preach a sermon here. Just wanted to make sure you understood about the striving. If you have truly received Christ, you can be sure that you will be in that number when the saints go marching in. 🙂 Be blessed, friend.
johnb138 on June 14, 2016 at 9:08 pm
Pho Fang, “The Narrow Door” is a wonderful reflection. Thank you for writing it. It is truly good to be reminded about the narrow door by which we must enter. I often think of Jesus as being the narrow door through which we must enter.
al061016 on June 14, 2016 at 10:50 pm
Philippians 2:12-13,
… work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Oswald Chambers said in one of the devotionals, “With focused attention and great care, you have to “work out” what God “works in” you— not work to accomplish or earn “your own salvation,” but work it out so you will exhibit the evidence of a life based with determined, unshakable faith on the complete and perfect redemption of the Lord.”
We all know once we are saved, we still need to work out our salvation to bear fruit. However, even this can not be achieved by working harder, by relying on our own strength and effort. All of us who have tried know, things do not work this way. We will just be wearing ourselves out.
This is God’s work done in us. We are the work of His hand.