(click to listen: The Narrow Gate)
“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:13-14.
“There is only one way under the sun by which man can attain harmony, that is to say, health, prosperity, peace of mind–salvation, in the true sense of the word–and that is by bringing about a radical and permanent change for the better in his own consciousness.” — Emmet Fox
When we come to some understanding of the law of consciousness, we begin to understand the relationship between our beliefs and the way our life unfolds. How we see things in general is influenced tremendously by how we see ourselves. Jesus pointed this out when he said a tree is known by its fruit. The fruit is our conditions in life. Our self-perception is the tree.
When compared to the way we often approach changing our lives, you will observe yourself commonly looking to gather new fruit without giving much consideration to the tree—the self-perception that you hold.
In the past I have raised a question that is worth asking and answering in any acquisitioning endeavor: Am I seeking to evolve a strength or am I attempting to protect a weakness? Sometimes we want more of a thing because we feel inadequate and the acquisition of the thing or condition will make us feel more of a sense of wholeness.
To enter by the narrow gate is to seek to first experience your wholeness, to touch that place within yourself where you know you are fine with or without the thing you pursue. There is nothing wrong with pursuing things. The problem is found more in why you think you need it. You are already whole. The message of the narrow gate is simple: start with your wholeness and go from there.