Drinking Straw

I'll be honest, this one stumped me. I sat there on the front of the platform looking at this straw and nada. I was thinking, straw, you drink out of it, it sucks up stuff, nada. I was tired from taking Janette to her parent's house late Saturday night because she was sick, my mind just wasn't working.

I told the kids I'd think about it this week and get back to them on Sunday. After service as I was driving home, still thinking about this straw, it began to hit me. it's narrow, it sucks a little at a time. That night as I was laying on the futon I finally got it.

Straws come in different sizes. This morning I was looking for a meeting place for a prayer meeting with some other pastors and I walked into a Panera. They have these massive straws there, and I asked the lady for one. This straw is huge, it would take no time at all to down any beverage with it simply because of the volume of liquid you can pull through it. The one that was in the bag was very narrow. It limits the amount you can drink at a time, but it makes it last longer, you can enjoy the beverage more.

Life is the same way. We have the choice, wide or narrow?

Matthew 7.13-14, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."

The wide path is easy. It gives you lots of your beverage and for the time it lasts you enjoy it. But then it's over, your not satisfied, and you wish you could start over, but you can't the drink is gone. It's easy, and it does bring some momentary enjoyment, but it doesn't last, and it ends in destruction.

The narrow path isn't as easy, but it's worth it. I live a life not for myself, not tying to fill desires with something that doesn't last, but with something eternal. When the beverage is gone, my thirst has been quenched and I'm satisfied. I have eternal life.

I choose to walk the narrow path. To some people the decision seems stupid, but to me, and millions of others, it's the only choice worth making. It ends in eternal life, life abundantly as Jesus promised (John 10.10). I choose the narrow straw, what about you?

Peace be with you