Walking the Narrow Road means…
2. Living in Love
If you’ve ever attended a Christian wedding, you’ve probably heard 1 Corinthians 13. Dubbed “The Love Chapter”, this passage contains thirteen verses describing what love is and why it is so important (read here). However, the apostle Paul did not write this passage for getting married, but to the church of Corinth (and consequently, to whole Christian church).
In the passage before this (1 Corinthians 12), Paul is explaining Spiritual gifts, and how everyone in the church is “a part of one body”- that is, each person has a role in the church that has equal importance to everyone else. As 1 Corinthians 12:26 says, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; If one member is honored, all rejoice together”. Therefore, following the narrow path is not only loving your spouse, but loving the whole church of God. We cannot pick favorites or cliques, but must love and care for everybody equally.
Additionally, we are called to love everybody, even the people who plot against us. Matthew 5:44 says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Not only are we to “love our neighbor as ourselves”, but Jesus says in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
Friends, you cannot out-love Jesus. He came to earth, lived the life of a peasant, served his people unconditionally as they spat in his face, took our sins, and died one of the most gruesome deaths devised by man. In Roman times, the cross was a death that they used on only the most foul criminals, and he did that for you and me. Even so, that is the kind of love we are called to show the world, no matter how much hate the world may deserve. To walk the narrow road is to live a life of crazy Jesus love.
~CLS
