““Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and won’t be able once the homeowner gets up and shuts the door. Then you will stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up for us! ’ He will answer you, ‘I don’t know you or where you’re from.’ Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you’re from. Get away from me, all you evildoers!’” Luke 13:24-27 CSB https://bible.com/bible/1713/luk.13.24-27.CSB

Not everyone who attends church will live with God forever in heaven. In fact, probably less than half. Jesus likens them to those who know where He lives. Thus, they knock on His door for entry, but He does not know who they are, so He refuses them entry. They claim to have eaten with Him and listened to Him speak, are insiders in His life, and, therefore, are people He should accept. But Jesus calls them evildoers because He does not know them. Why does He not know them? Probably because they were not with Him when He was working in the world. Disciples follow their master and don’t try to coerce him to do their will. What is the problem with these people who claim to know Jesus but whom He denies entry into His eternal dwelling place? Their effort. Make every effort He commands to enter through the narrow door. The way to heaven is not broad and easy but difficult and narrow, requiring focused attention and serious concentration. Attending dinners and listening to speeches once a week is not strenuous. Carrying a cross daily and denying ourselves so that others can live is the hard work the Savior exhibited and expects from His followers. Our culture reflects a people of God who have assimilated well, accumulating the same houses and cars the pagans accumulate. Our culture should reflect the Lord Jesus because the leaven of Christlikeness permeated the whole dough through constant acts of service to garner attention for a continuous message of repent, make every effort to enter the Kingdom of God, for soon He comes to judge everyone for the lives we have lived. What effort are you making to be saved and to help others do the same?