I recently heard this question asked, “Is it right or wrong to do thus and such on the Sabbath?”  As Christians we often ask questions like: is it O.K. to take part in some event, is it O.K. to go to a particular movie, is it O.K. to hang around certain people, and on and on. But what is the heart’s motive behind these questions?  Are we trying to do just enough in our Christian walk to “squeak” by?  Or are we willing to do all we can to please the Lord who saved us from the fatal consequences of our sins? I heard this put another way recently: a husband asked his wife how far he could go before she considered what he did as adultery. That makes one think.
     The danger for most Christians is complacency. This was the comfortable, lukewarm attitude of the church of Laodicea (Rev. 3). They felt they had done their share of service, they were content with this world’s wealth, they needed nothing. But the Lord didn’t see it that way. He said of them, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold or hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”  What a warning this is!  For them to be “middle of the road,” or a more popular term these days, “a moderate,” angered and disgusted the Lord because they didn’t have the courage to either reject Him outright or to live fully for Him.
     The Christian walk is not one of comfort and ease. “We are to strive by prayer and supplication, diligently seeking deliverance from those things which would bar our entrance. We are to earnestly cry to Christ for help from those foes which are seeking to overcome us. We are to come constantly to the Throne of Grace, that we may there find grace to help us repudiate and turn away with loathing from everything which is abhorred by God.” Arthur Pink  Jesus said in Luke 13:24, “Strive to enter in at the strait (narrow) gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”  The word “strive” means “agonize”, “fight”, “labouring fervently.” This is a strong word and shows us that the narrow way of the Lord is not to be taken lightly.

     The broad road is not the life of a “pilgrim and stranger” (I Pet. 2:II, Heb. II:I3). Are we afraid of being thought of as a puritan, narrow and strict?  Are we afraid of denying ourselves by “missing out” on worldly pleasures?  There is only one true and lasting fulfillment and that is the presence of the Lord Jesus. There is only one source of real peace, joy and contentment, and that is our Father in heaven.  All else is vanity; short lived and fading quickly.