That’s what the bumper sticker read (minus the question mark), with two ichthys swimming in one direction and two more swimming away from them. One of the ichthys swam alongside another that represented the LGBTQ+ community with rainbow colors, while the other two ichthys swam away. The message seemed to be: “I am a Christian, but I don’t walk the narrow road.”

“‘You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.’” (Matthew 7:13-14)

The bumper sticker imagery seems to depict a Christian going away from the path Jesus said is the only way to enter God’s Kingdom. The gateway to life is very narrow, Jesus said, the road to it is difficult, and only a few ever find it. If you would rather take the straight path over the narrow one, the only other option is the broad road and Jesus was kind enough to tell us where the broad road leads. 

“‘Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” (Matthew 7:21-23)

It is this mindset, that one can walk a straight path but doesn’t have to walk a narrow one, that makes this passage understandable and less surprising. Jesus said that not everyone who calls out, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus describes people who very clearly think they did everything right: prophesied in His name, cast out demons in His name, performed miracles in His name, and yet Jesus never knew them. In his work The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis commented on this passage of Scripture saying:

“In some sense, as dark to the intellect as it is unendurable to the feelings, we can be both banished from the presence of Him who is present everywhere and erased from the knowledge of Him who knows all.” 

I can think of no greater hell. Jesus made it clear that the narrow road is the difficult one. It’s not necessarily easy to walk a narrow road when the culture screams about all the things it allows on the wide one. This world might even call us “narrow-minded,” but the narrow road does not allow for every idea this world has—it only has room for Jesus’ way. If we bend to the pressure and insults of this world, if we do not take a stand on this narrow road, we risk hearing Jesus speak those terrifying words: “I never knew you.” Are you walking on the narrow road or is your road wide enough for all kinds of ideas? It is impossible to walk two roads at once and we know where both roads lead. Choose today whom you will serve. You may know Jesus, but does He know you?

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

—Redeemed