The Door Back to Life

Most of us assume that the difference between the “good people” and the “bad people” is obvious. We imagine the good people are the ones who pray, go to church, and avoid all the usual vices; the bad people are the ones who rebel, party, or break all the rules.

But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus surprises everyone. When He talks about the “broad road that leads to destruction” and the “narrow road that leads to life” (Matthew 7:13-14), He isn’t contrasting the religious with the irreligious. He’s contrasting two ways of trying to be human—one that looks right but ends up empty, and one that often feels counterintuitive but leads to real life.

The Easy Road We All Recognize

Jesus says many people will naturally choose the wide road. Why? Because it feels intuitive.

It’s the road that tells us:

“Follow your gut. Do what feels right for you.”

Or, “Just be a good person—clean up your act, behave, and God will be pleased.”

One is obviously irreligious. The other looks like moral, upright religion. Both are popular because they seem easier than the way of Jesus.

But Jesus warns that either version—living for yourself or trying to earn God’s approval—can keep us from Him. It’s not just the prodigal child who runs from God who’s lost; it’s also the elder sibling who stays home, follows all the rules, and still misses the Father’s heart.

The Trap of “Good Christian” Religion

If you grew up in church, you probably know what this looks like: the pressure to be polite, to have a clean record, to appear like a “good Christian.”

The problem? You can be squeaky-clean and still miss Jesus entirely. You can give to charity, read the Bible daily, and never cheat on your taxes—and still be walking the broad road.

Because the broad road isn’t defined by obvious rebellion. It’s defined by self-reliance.
It’s any way of living that essentially says, “I know better than Jesus about how life works.”

The Narrow Way that Feels Wrong

Then Jesus says there’s a small gate and a narrow road that actually leads to life. It’s narrow not because it’s exclusive or for the elite but because it feels unnatural at first.

It looks like:

Choosing mercy over payback.

Loving your enemy instead of cancelling them.

Forgiving when it would be easier to cut ties.

Being generous even when it costs you.

Admitting weakness and depending on grace.

In short, it’s the way of surrender. It feels constricting at first because it asks us to let go of control. But it’s the only road that leads us home.

Jesus: The Door Through Death into Life

Jesus pulls on a long thread that runs through the whole Bible: life is found through a doorway that often looks like loss. Noah’s family entered through a single door into the ark to be saved. The Israelites painted their doorposts with lamb’s blood to be rescued from death. The temple had a curtain—another “door”—between God’s presence and the people.

Jesus stands in that tradition and declares, “I am the door. Whoever enters through me will be saved” (John 10:9).
He’s the One who passes through death on our behalf so we can enter into life.

Taking the First Step

The narrow road isn’t about signing up for a religion or pretending to be perfect. It’s about re-learning the way of Jesus as the most fully human way to live.

Here are a few places to start this week:

You don’t have to sprint the whole road at once. You start by putting one foot on the path that looks costly but leads to freedom.

Jesus doesn’t invite us onto the narrow road to make life smaller. He invites us there because He’s already walked through the flaming sword of death for us, so that on the other side we can find life.