¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

These are some of the more daunting words in the New Testament – words from Jesus himself, towards the end of His transcendent Sermon on the Mount. Without a context for the heart of God and the grace of Christ – this passage can make Christianity seem like a tightrope, one misstep away from falling into the pit of hell. And I’m sure this false interpretation has driven many into the arms of another lover, one that promises freedom – but one that exists on a cultural tightrope – one that twists and turns, often bluntly with little notice.

This tightrope I’m referring to is the modern “woke” movement – the secular world’s demand to be perfect and modern in speech and behavior. This set of norms is arbitrary and not dictated by a methodology or eternal set of moral standards, but instead a loud majority who decide what is right in their own eyes – today.

Failure to submit to the trajectory of the woke crowd could result in career and social cancellation – and has, for so many trying to live religiously by it. Kevin Hart, a popular comedian, made a joke about a fear of his son playing with a dollhouse and has been paying penance for over a decade for it – even losing a chance to host the Oscars ten years later for his refusal to apologize again – citing his many previous apologies being sufficient. (Which, apparently, they weren’t).

It is so easy to get swept up on the woke escalator – but so hard to stay on.

Back to the narrow path of Jesus.

There is one thing this narrow means absolutely: yes, there is only one path to God. As freeing as it is to say that every religion is a different path up the mountain of God, that is simply not true – and impossible to prove in Scripture. We serve a God who will have no other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3) – one whose Son says clearly and with finality that “no one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

But that does not mean life in Christ is a tightrope – this is also impossible to prove in Scripture. First of all, THE ENTIRE BIBLE is the story of God rescuing a broken and rebellious people to Himself, each story and character in the Bible probably involves some sort of facepalm, “really!” moment – in which a tightrope could never hold them.

I am moved by the words of David in Psalm 18 (I literally want to write the whole Psalm but I will pick my favorite passage):

As for God, his way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock? God arms me with strength; he has made my way safe. He makes me as surefooted as a deer, leading me safely along the mountain heights. He prepares me for battle; he strengthens me to draw a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand supports me; your gentleness has made me great. You have made a wide path for my feet, to keep them from slipping.

Have you ever seen a deer climbing on the side of the mountain? It is nail-biting to watch! But God gives us sure feet, equipping us to walk the path He has set before us. And as David goes on to say, God has made the path wide for our feet. It is a path of grace and love, an invitation into the arms of our loving Father.

The woke movement promises nothing that can be sure – one faulty step could result in complete dismissal. The blood of Christ and the care of our Father God assures that we need not live in that fear on His path.

So what will we choose? Momentary fame and acceptance on the woke rope? Or eternal glory and the unfailing love of God the rescuer?