The Few & The Narrow (by Tammy Carter)

So often I have to remind myself of a couple of scriptures when it comes to the lack of interest in serving the church. I was a member of a pretty big church for 7 years and I remember how it seemed like the same few people did all the “work”.  Same people interceding, same people serving communion, so on and so forth. AND, well serving His church also includes reaching out and including the broken-hearted, the lost, the lonely…the “least of these”.

2And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. –Luke 10:2-3(ESV)

Graham Cooke often says his ministry is “reaching Christians for Christ”…and, while I laugh at that statement (because it’s funny), I also ache inside a little because so often that is the case! We as Christians just sometimes don’t GET IT!!! We are SO COMFORTABLE in America that if reaching out and including people doesn’t fit into our schedules, life-style or clique…well, we are just not going to do it!  It seems to me that Jesus’ ministry was primarily filled with finding…even going out of His way (Woman at the well) to reach the fatherless, the rejected, the needy…which can be any of us…anyone that is HONEST with their brokenness!

It’s hard to be honest about brokenness, but sometimes, when we are, we realize we are not alone…ALL of us are broken! And, the interesting thing to me is the way God reveals this is often through those in our community in which we least expect it!

“Community is the place where the person you least want to live with, always lives!”-Henri Nouwen

"In the unity of the Body of Christ, differences of race, status & gender lose their significance."

-John Mark Pool

So, I tried another big church for awhile and well, I wonder why this was the same case with a "few workers"!? Hmmm…can Satan have us so deceived that we don’t follow our mission? Do we need to have a “come to Jesus meeting” with each other? OR, do we need to pray that we would LIVE the mission and connect with each other? Well, YES, PRAYER is the obvious choice, but I believe we also need to just realize that maybe FEW will truly reach the harvest?! Few because I believe the choice to serve like Jesus wants us to also is HARD and well, NARROW!  Few actually choose to connect with those in their community and serve.

13"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. 14For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. –Matthew 7:13-14(ESV)

The narrow gate is hard because it often is the uncomfortable route for most of us. It includes obedience, discipline, suffering, pain and SURRENDERING! Surrendering our lives daily to God’s will! Just this past week, my 12 step group went through the Surrender Step. It is Step 3 from Kathy Escobar’s “The 12 Steps. Refuge Style. Transformation. Healing. Change.” Step 3 in her steps is: “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God.”

I have to admit…a VERY hard step for me! Probably because it IS including the narrow way! But, WHY is it that I want the wide gate? This gate leads to destruction? Probably because I believe the wide gate IS the best and may be “easy” in the short-term, but then, eventually leads to my harm. So, right now, the choice again is PRAYER! Prayer that I would have the COURAGE to enter that narrow gate, surrender and serve those Christ wants me to serve!

Again, I would like to share a poem God gave me as I processed this Surrender Step…

Heartbeat of God

Laying my head

Upon Your chest

Your pulse I hear

As I rest.

You gently say,

“I am here.”

“No more worry,

No more fear!”

Heartbeat of God

Beat with mine

Restore my soul

Take my life.

In Your Comfort

I am still

Beside Your stream

In Your Will.

Walking in peace

Guide my step

Your rhythm leads

Right or left.

Heartbeat of God

Beat with Mine

Restore my soul

Take my life.

     -Tammy Carter

So, as His Beloved, I pray we would be part of the few to reach the harvest, enter the narrow gate...AND surrender to Him! Surrender because I believe He will restore our souls giving us rest, peace, trust, faith and HOPE!