Verses 13 and 14 say, “Enter in through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted which leads to life, and few are those who find it.” Who can enter through the narrow gate spoken of in verse 13? Only the kingdom people with the nature described in the nine blessings in chapter five. Those who enter the narrow gate must be poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, making peace with all men, willing to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and willing to be reproached for Christ. Only those with such a nature can enter through the narrow gate. Furthermore, those who enter through this narrow gate must be under the higher laws of the kingdom, the complemented and changed laws, and they should not have any anxiety concerning their living. Rather, they must have the confidence that their heavenly Father is taking care of them. Moreover, they should not be lazy or idle, but diligent and industrious. These are the people who enter through the narrow gate and walk on the constricted way.
This way is constricted, limited, on every side. The gate is narrow and the way is constricted because the new law of the kingdom is stricter and the demand of the kingdom is higher than that of the old covenant. It deals not only with outward conduct, but also with inward motive. The old man, the self, the flesh, the human concept, and the world with its glory are all excluded. Only that which corresponds to God’s will can enter in. The kingdom people need firstly to enter such a narrow gate and then to walk on such a constricted way. It is not walking the way first and then entering the gate. To enter the gate is simply to begin walking on the way, a way which is lifelong.
We all are happy to be in the Lord’s recovery and appreciate the recovery very much. But let me ask you this question: As one in the Lord’s recovery, are you walking on the constricted way? We all must be able to say that we are not taking the way of Christianity, but the way of constriction. We are constricted on every side. Those in Christianity can use rock music or other worldly methods in their services, but we cannot, because our way is constricted. All young people desire to be free, that is, to put off all restriction. When the young people graduate from high school, they are like caged birds wanting to be free. However, many are so free that they have no constriction, no restriction. We in the Lord’s recovery, on the contrary, are taking a constricted way. We must even have some restriction in the practice of pray-reading. In our pray-reading we should not be like worldly people at a ball game who have no restrictions. We in the Lord’s recovery must walk in our spirit. Living in spirit and walking in spirit restrict us. Even when we are loving, rejoicing, and happy, we must be under restriction. We must not be like those who throw off all restraint in their excitement. Rather, we must be excited within the limit of the spirit. This must even be true in the meetings. Although we may fully release our spirit, we should be restricted as far as physical activity is concerned. In everything, we need to take the constricted way, not the broad way.
We must take the constricted way in our fellowship with the brothers. Do you intend to praise a brother? You must praise him in a constricted way. Are you about to rebuke a brother? You must rebuke him in a constricted way. Are you having fellowship with some brothers? This is excellent, but you must fellowship with them in a constricted way. Sometimes when you are having fellowship, you forget all limitation. You go on hour after hour without taking care of the need for food or rest. Furthermore, in your fellowship you talk about everything from the archangel Michael, to Martin Luther, to all the brothers and sisters in the church. You fellowship about everyone without any restriction. Praise the Lord that we are truly free. Nevertheless, we still have the limitations, restrictions, and constrictions.
Consider the example of the Lord Jesus in John chapter seven. When His brothers proposed that He go into Judea and make Himself known to the public, the Lord said, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready” (John 7:6). The Lord’s word indicates that He was limited, that He was walking a constricted way. As the kingdom people, we also must walk on a constricted way. Our way is full of limitations, restrictions, and constrictions. But do not consider any limitation a frustration. Rather, the limitations will speed us on our way. If we refuse to be constricted, our progress will be slowed down. However, if we are willing to be limited and constricted, our speed will increase. After having passed through all the preceding six sections of the constitution, in the last section we are ushered through the narrow gate, and we are on the constricted way.