Out Our Way: The Gate - Matthew 7:13-14

Out our way, working cattle is different nowadays than it was in yesteryear. Granted, here and there we still have areas of open range, but by and large, cowboying is done in a fenced pasture. Pushing the herd along is not done all the time and when we do, it is because we are moving them to new grazing grounds - the "green pastures and still waters" (Psalm 23) that give life, health and wholeness. But the barbed wire fence of the modern range limits us in some respects, as we cannot simply go in the general direction and get to the fresh grass and water the herd needs to survive and thrive. We have to find the gate, open it and let the herd through.

Fortunately, we seldom have to hunt for the gate, for there are well-traveled trails built up over the years that lead to where we want to go. Of course, Charlie and I were free to ride hither and yon in any direction we chose, pushing the cattle according to our own personal whims. We could go this way or that according to our own choice. In short, we were free to ignore the old trails and blaze our own. But to what purpose? We seek the gate and those who came before us have shown the way.

Now, it is true that some trails are not very helpful at times. A trail can get worn down, crumble away here and there, and whole sections are sometimes washed away over the years by the wind and weather. That is why one always finds new trails paralleling the old over the years. These are not arbitrary trails cut according to the whims of the herd or herder, for they follow the same direction and path as the old trail, just in a slightly different way. They still have the same goal and purpose, to get us to the gate.

The Boss has called us to look for the gate and has shown us the trail to follow. It is the one blazed by so many before us over the millennia, from Abraham to the present day. Granted, over the centuries, different versions of the trail have needed to be blazed, but most are focused on getting us to the gate. However, beware! For not all new trails are true ones. Not all are focused on getting to the gate. Greed, power, corruption, spiritual laziness, etc. have all contributed to false trails over the centuries that have led many astray. Jesus warned of such false trails and those who lead the gullible along them, "By their fruits you will know them" (Matthew 7:13-20).

As for the right trail, use the same judgement. The true trail leads to the gate, the false ones do not. If the trail you are following tends to meander off to some other purpose, get off it, backtrack and find the true one. Over the years I have found there are many versions of the right trail - Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, nondenominational and independent, etc. But I have also discovered there are many false trails among those who call themselves by these same names as well. "By their fruits you will know them." By their focus you will see where they are leading. The gate is the Kingdom of God being opened to all the world. If they have a different focus and destination in mind, they are leading us away from the gate and not toward it.

We are called to ride for the Brand - and that is not a denomination or institution - it is the Kingdom of God. And the Boss is calling us to open the gate to the Kingdom for all people. Any trail that does not lead to that goal, no matter how broad or fancy or attractive is a false one.

Be blessed and be a blessing.

Brother John

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The Rev. John Bruington is the retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Havre. He now lives in Colorado, but continues to write "Out Our Way." He can be reached for comment or dialogue at [email protected].