"As Jesus
went on His way through cities and villages, teaching and journeying on to
Jerusalem, someone said to Him, Lord, are they few that are saved? And He said
unto them, ‘Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I say unto you,
shall seek to enter in and shall not be able’ " (Luke 13:22-24).
The Greek word Jesus used which is
translated "strive" is AGONIDZO, (sounds almost like our word
"agonize"). The term has an interesting history. The "agon"
was once used to describe the place or location of the games or contests the
Greeks were famous for, held every four years on the plain of Olympia. Today we
call those games the Olympics.
Beginning in B.C. 776, with the
only contest being a foot race, the number of games gradually increased to
twenty-four, including wrestling, boxing, chariot-racing and horse-racing. The
victor of the contest was crowned with wreaths of wild olive and such adulation
was paid to him and his family that no effort was too great for a contestant to
put forth in order to win. In Athens the victor was maintained at public cost
for the remainder of his life! In that case the reward was worth every bit of
the effort involved.
That’s the way it will be with
Heaven - worth the “striving” it will take to get there. Jesus never indicated
it would be easy to be saved, but would be only for those who would be willing
to strive or "agonize." Although many would "seek" to enter
in, those who would be only casual in their service to the Lord would not
succeed.. Only when that "seeking" becomes our top priority will it
be "striving."
Jesus taught His disciples not to
focus their attention on the physical things of life, but to "seek ye first the kingdom of God and
His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew
6:33). It’s easy to spend our time
and money on the physical things of life and neglect the more important
spiritual things. Perhaps that’s why Jesus compared the struggle involved in an
athlete competing in a contest to the effort involved in being His disciple.
Paul also compared the Christian
life to the struggle of the games: "Don’t
you know that they who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?
Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone that strives in the games
exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a perishable
wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without
aim, I box in such a way, not as beating the air, but I buffet my body and make
it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be
disqualified " (1 Corinthians 9:23-27).
Paul knew that the imperishable
reward was worth making any sacrifice (Romans 8:18). Do we?
To become a Christian we must
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, repent of our sins, confess
His name before men and be baptized in order to have our sins forgiven. And
that’s when the “striving” begins. Jesus said that in order to receive the
crown of life, we must be faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10).That doesn’t
mean until we grow old and die but that we must remain faithful even if we have
to suffer and die for our faith.