I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 27th of July, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We go to the Gospel of Matthew 7:13-14. Jesus says:

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

This Christian walk of ours is not easy. The Lord never promised us a rose garden but He did promise us that He would lead us if we will follow Him. When you go through that narrow gate, it is character-building stuff. We have to keep at it, no compromise, no bending the rules, no cheating because the way is narrow and it is steep and very difficult, but at the end of that road it is most rewarding. 

As a younger man, I used to love climbing to the mountain tops of the mighty Drakensberg Mountains, which lie about an hour and a half west of Shalom Farm. When you get out of the pick-up or out of the truck, everybody is excited. Put your rucksacks on, get your walking stick with you and off you go! The road is wide, it is smooth and there are many people that are walking on that road. But the amazing thing is, as you start to get higher, the oxygen is less, it’s much steeper, the weather is all over the place, it can get windy, it can rain - you can get four seasons in one day, and the road gets much narrower. No more road, just a path.  Eventually, the path gives up, there is no more path, and the only way you can get to the top, and it is quite perilous, is by following little cairns of stones that people have put in the way to show you the way to the top.

That is how it is in life. When we get serious with God, He gets serious with us, but oh my dear friend, it is so worthwhile because eventually, when you get to the top, sometimes on your hands and knees, and you turn around and look out, you see the whole of KwaZulu-Natal. On a clear day, you can see to the ocean. It is mighty! There are only certain birds up there, such as the Lämmegeier, the bearded vulture, which has a wing span of about two metres, very few eagles, and definitely no house birds. However, it is invigorating. 

Now, keep on the road. Keep going through the narrow gate. Don’t worry about the easy way that many people walk in, but that one does not lead to eternal life. 

Jesus bless you today as you keep your eyes fixed on the top of the mountain.
Goodbye.