Reflection – Dr Nathan Leber
“I do not know where you are from!”
Are you a casual acquaintance to the message of Christ? Jesus gives us all a stark warning. Even if we partake in his meal, even if we listen to his teachings, even if we liked what he was saying, agreed with it, but stopped short of full acceptance, we will not experience salvation. He tells us to try to enter by the narrow gate – a path not open to all who wish entrance. Even those who are confident in their right to enter may be turned away. This is a truly frightening passage – but thankfully one easy to rectify. The secret is God loves us all and wants us to be saved – he has given us the gift of love and forgiveness. He has sent his message and invitation out to all nations of the world. He asks us to accept the Gospel, which includes the continuation to share a faith worth sharing, to spread the Good News. Yet, the process of gift-giving and invitation requires a reciprocated action. It needs our acceptance in full, with humility, gratitude, and love. Everything starts with a relationship with our heavenly Father. We are reminded by Paul’s letter that, as children of God, we need to accept God’s “corrections” and “training” – not to be discouraged, and realise it is for our good and growth. By accepting this, we become one with God: we are in Christ and he is in us, and then he will know us and know where we are from. So, our task is easy. Develop a relation with God: a personal, honest, unadulterated get to know God now kind of relationship. We need to stop pretending to follow Him and do the right thing. We need to give up on all our pretences and pride. We need to become the us God intended us to be. As Psalm 139 states, God has examined you and knows you: he knows every detail of your conduct. We need to accept Jesus into our minds, hearts and hands, to believe in Him and to continue His work here amongst our companions on the journey. Only then may you be given entry via the narrow gate – for that narrow gate is Christ Himself.
Dr Nathan Leber
