Driving Ireland along the Narrow Way...

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https://youtu.be/hguMzXyJGCw

Driving in Ireland... On our travels through Ireland, we set our Garmin to avoid the highways and drove the beautiful country sides. Along the way, we got a surprise! A big tractor on a very narrow road! It had stormed the night before, knocking down a tree, but that day, the weather was beautiful and our rental car was very small. What good fortune we had! This event on the narrow road reminds me of Jesus’, “#Sermononthemount, where He states, “…NARROW is the road that leads to LIFE and FEW find it,“ even as few could have gotten past that tree and tractor. In the text, Jesus is using the narrowness term to describe a life of liberty; one that He would make available to His disciples,(disciplined followers). But why use narrow, to describe a broad term like Liberty? Did you know that this same sermon contains the foundational texts for AA’s #12steps and #CelebrateRecovery’s 8 principles? Over the years, millions of steppers worldwide, can attest to the grace and strength they found when they, “Realized that they are not God,” and surrendered their wills to a, “Higher Power,” who is genuinely trustworthy; whether religious in the traditional sense or not. Through their testimonies, I have heard repeatedly how these steppers appreciate experiencing the kind of freedom and liberty Jesus spoke about! But have their lives actually become narrow? Have they lost freedom? How can liberty equate with a loss of freedom? I can’t help but think that many equate the term, narrow with, “#narrowminded.” And see them as being, narrow minded? Can realizing that I am not God make me a narrow minded dullard? But the preceding verse also makes a claim. It states. “BROAD is the gate and WIDE is the ROAD that leads to destruction; and MANY go thereby. Here, I can’t help but think about how broad and wide and destructive that tractor could have been to our car. So what about this promise? How can becoming narrow, or practicing narrowness broaden our horizons and bring #liberty? At the time, much of Jesus’ sermon challenged the religious people of His day, especially the religious leaders. Does this challenge continue? Why does He say, most people will not seek the liberty He offers? And if not, what will they be seeking? On another occasion, at the Synagogue, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him and He found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives, to heal the broken hearted and bring recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord… and He ended with… Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:17-21) Jesus declared an ongoing process that would include many positive events. But this would not negate His other claims for those that chose destruction. The liberty that He talks about is not a singular event; it is an ongoing process that transcends the process taking place in the world around us. The common denominator among the steppers that have found freedom is their willingness to see their bondage and desire to be set free. They discovered that their purpose was to be set free to share a message of liberation with others. Jesus talked about a similar mission stating, “If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. But many of the listeners became enraged expressing pride in their heritage and traditions stating they had never been slaves to anyone! Still, Jesus continued, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34) Our liberty comes through God changing our hearts and opening our minds to enable us to understand that we are in bondage. We have all submitted to bondages of vain pride, false power, deceptive lusts and addictive pleasures to name a few. He offers us freedom, but this freedom sets us at odds with what the world around us idolizes. Before we can become effective in His kingdom we must be set free from our loyalties to His opponents. Where are you in this process? Many years ago I wrote a workbook that explains some of this process. Originally it was a booklet, then a blog, you can find it at www.morethanmanagement.life For more writings like this one you can go to, www.seekinghigherbeing.org For social and political events consider www.thesubwaywalls.com