Live Like Someone Left The Gate Open
The Gate
I love the saying, “Live like someone left the gate open.” The more time I have spent around horses, the more I understand these words. When we keep our horse in the corral, so he does not overeat, he waits for the gate to open so he can get to the lush green grass. As soon as the latch on the gate clicks, there is an excitement to go through. The desire to be on the grass is so strong the horses want nothing more than to get through that gate.
We have two dogs and one is much more adventurous than the other. My sweet Daisy is a loyal companion. She is always by my side. We can spend hours outside together with her unleashed and she will never run away. However, Vinny, oh Vinny. He is sweet too, but if the opportunity arises, he runs. Vinny bases his life on the phrase, “Live like someone left the gate open.” He waits by the door when friends come over, and while we say our hellos, out he goes. If he finds even a slight opening in the gate, he runs. When he feels this since of freedom, he hears nothing we say, and he enjoys every moment of running free.
The Hei
In the last post, we looked at the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the Daleth ד (da·leth). You can read it here. The Daleth ד represents a doorway where God invites us into a holy place with Him. This week we will look at my favorite letter, the Hei ה (pronounced as hey). The Hei ה is the fifth letter of the Alphabet and has the numerical value of five.
The Hei ה is my favorite because it represents the breath of God, His still small voice, and God’s presence. I long to hear God speak and love learning the many ways He spoke throughout scripture. I find it fascinating that the same voice that created the heavens and the earth is the same voice that speaks directly to you and me.
If we accept His invitation to enter the doorway the Daleth represents, we enter a place of what the Hei teaches us, hearing Him speak. These can be moments of prayer, meditation on scripture, a time of silence, or whatever place He has invited you into. It is a place where we are attuned to Him and He can speak to you.
The more times we enter this special place, experiencing moments with the Lord, the more opportunities we have to hear the breath of God speak. When we hear His voice, follow what He is leading us to do, and learn from what He says, the more we grow and draw closer to Him.
The Narrow Gate
As you can see on the Hei ה, there is a small opening at the top left and a larger opening at the bottom. Scholars suggest Jesus was thinking of the Hei when He said, “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.” (Matthew 7:13-14 NIV)
This gate for us should be just like the horses. God created our hearts to desire to be on the other side. The side of Heaven, spending eternity with Jesus. We should be ready with excitement to enter this gate, knowing where it leads. And when we go, much like good old Vinny, we experience so much freedom. The freedom that can only come through Jesus Himself. It is time to live like someone left the gate open, because He did.
Matthew Henry, in his commentary, explains to us further about the narrow gate. “The gate being so strait and the way so narrow, it is not strange that there are but few that find it, and choose it. Many pass it by, through carelessness; they will not be at the pains to find it; they are well as they are, and see no need to change their way. Others look upon it, but shun it; they like not to be so limited and restrained. Those that are going to heaven are but few, compared to those that are going to hell; a remnant, a little flock, like the grape-gleanings of the vintage; as the eight that were saved in the ark.”
The narrow gate requires us to accept Jesus as our Savior to enter. When we accept Christ as our Savior, we begin our journey through the narrow gate where refining begins. From the time of our salvation til we die, we are on a road to becoming more like Him. To do this, we shed off our fleshly desires to replace them with heavenly desires.
The Message Of Salvation
Jesus came to us as a baby, born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life and experienced every trial we would ever face. Jesus was beaten and and hung on a cross where died to save us from our sins. Once He breathed His last, He was buried in a grave, and three days later rose to life. He ascended into Heaven, where He still sits at the right hand of God.
If we believe this and repent of our own sins, then we can enter that narrow gate and join Him in Heaven for all eternity.
Have you accepted Jesus for yourself? Have you begun walking through the narrow gate? If you have, I am excited to be with you on the journey. I would like to personally invite you if you have not. If you want to know more, or have a prayer need, fill out the form below.
Thank you for sharing…
Never miss a post. Subscribe below…
