Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it. But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straightened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it. (Matthew 7: 13-14 AMPC)
The way into my presence is always through a narrow gate, not because it’s limited to a special few, but because of the pressure of the ways of the world: a force that compresses it and makes it hard to enter. It’s so much easier to substitute the wide gate of politics or even social justice for that narrow gate that demands the low position of a servant and the simple heart of a child. No one who is inflated by ego or pride can squeeze through that gate, and no one who depends on his own strength can open that gate. The way deeper into your knowledge of me is straightened and compressed and becomes even more narrow as you draw closer to me. That is the paradox of being mine: I give you all things, but I also demand all things; I set you free that you might choose to be a servant; I promise fruitfulness, but I prune you in order to achieve fruitfulness; I give life, but you must choose to die to yourself; I call everyone to come to me without exception, but those who want to enter into all that I have for them must turn from all they demand for themselves, and enter through the narrow gate.
— August 31, 2020