When I was a boy, I never had the urge to serve in the military. It is not something I would ever choose to do. That may scandalize some, but it is the truth. The thought of me picking up a gun and pointing it at someone with the intent to kill did, and still does, horrify me. Yet, when I was a teenager, and on the precipice of making momentous decisions concerning my future after high school, there was a powerful armed services recruitment television commercial that, surprisingly, provoked within me heroic imaginings. Even now, a small thrill runs through me at the memory of watching young men execute, in unison and with exacting precision, intricate drills with their rifles as the narrator intoned. These were those who chose to dedicate themselves to a sense of honor. They chose to live a life of courage. They chose to commit their lives to something greater than themselves. They had chosen to become one of the few. The proud. The Marines.
Those young men came to mind as I reflected on the necessity of choice when it comes to producing the good fruit of a well-lived, Christian life. Early in the book of Matthew, both John the Baptist and Jesus proclaimed two messages. There was, of course, the good news of the coming of the kingdom of heaven but also the chilling revelation that not all who heard the good news of the kingdom of heaven would gain entry. The kingdom of heaven would be realized by those who chose to live differently than before.
Jesus sets the stakes starkly for his listeners, and for us, too, in Matthew, chapter 7:13, 14. There are two paths. He says, in effect, make a choice. Enter the narrow gate and choose life or go the broad way and choose death. This broad way is easy to travel and those who do so will have plenty of companionship. It is the path of accommodation and compromise, rationalization and justification. Choosing to live this way is a choice to focus on self, and self alone. By contrast, to enter the narrow door is to choose the way of the few, for few choose to walk without equivocation, uncompromisingly focused on the goal ahead. To choose the narrow door is to choose something, or Someone, greater than oneself, and I wonder, my sister, my brother, which path have you chosen to travel? Right now, as you sit and reflect on the question, does your life reflect a commitment to picking up your cross and following Jesus Christ, or are you running with the pack towards perdition? I pray that it is the former, for your sake but not your sake alone. I pray this because of the impact of your Christ-like life on the lives that you are entwined with. Those who are yet in darkness and in need of light. Those who are in need of you as you imitate Christ. Are you one of the few and the proud?
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