The author's jumping-off point is a simple childhood memory about a lesson in the importance of blind obedience as opposed to having to know why our parents made rules for us, one to which every reader can relate
From there, his expanded theme becomes more than evident: Most Christians today don't think deeply enough about their choices while they are alive on Earth and where they might lead us to in eternity.
The central image in the book is from Matthew 7:13-14 and John 10:9. Jesus tells His listeners there, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture." The thing is that both gates lead to heaven.
Most Christians would ask, "What, then, is the difference which gate we go through? If we attend church one day a week and lead a life that meets the basic requirements of the outward trappings of a religious person ("Don't murder anyone, and don't steal from people") what's the big deal?"
Author Danny Clifford's insight into this teaching is profound. Some people's assurance of salvation is a delusion. To enter the narrow gate of the kingdom we must knock, that is, request that God make us citizens of his kingdom. The difficulty of Jesus' way includes embracing by repentance both persecution (Matthew 5:10-12) and the ethics of the kingdom taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says that the wide gate is the "easy" way, resting on one's laurels, seeking prosperity for themselves, and not at all willing to make any sacrifices. This book makes us realize that Jesus intends for his words to jar us from complacency, to consider the genuineness of our commitment to him.
A major revelation for this Editor was when Author Clifford insists that God can't complete His plan for salvation on Earth without the help of ordinary human beings. We are the instruments and the agents of His power.
The illustrations in this book are beautiful - sometimes startlingly so - and exquisite in detail. They add to and perfectly complement Mr. Clifford's patient and insightful interpretations of the various Scripture passages that convey the essential messages in, Enter Through the Narrow Gate.
Frank Kresen
