The Narrow Path That Leads to Inclusion

In our current cultural and political climate, one truth has become increasingly clear: the greatest value in following Jesus is not about religious practice detached from a kingdom-shaped heart. It is not discovered through self-righteous effort, cultural power, or moral gatekeeping. Instead, the greatest value is found in hearts and lives fully submitted to Jesus—lives that seek justice for the marginalized, extend mercy to those pushed to the edges, and love neighbors who are too often treated as threats rather than image-bearers.

Jesus’ vision of the kingdom consistently centers people who are our society overlooks or rejects. Immigrants, outsiders, and those whose identities do not fit dominant cultural expectations were never peripheral to His message—they were central. This remains true as we turn to the concluding verses of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13–29.

Before stepping into these closing words, it helps to remember the foundation was already laid in the Beatitudes.

Jesus blesses the poor in spirit, the grieving, the gentle, and those hungry for righteousness. He honors the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those persecuted for doing what is right. These blessings do not favor the powerful or the socially secure. They announce that God’s kingdom belongs to those who know their need and those who bear the cost of love in an unjust world.

For immigrants navigating fear and instability, and for LGBTQ+ people who have experienced rejection—often at the hands of religious communities—these blessings are not abstract. They are a declaration that God sees, values, and welcomes those others have tried to exclude.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction… How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life.” - Matthew 7:13-14 (CSB)

The narrow path Jesus describes is not about exclusion for exclusion’s sake. It is narrow because it refuses the wide road of fear, control, and self-protection. It resists the temptation to build identity around who is “in” and who is “out.”

For Jesus’ original audience, the imagery of two paths—life and death—was familiar. What may have surprised them is how Jesus redefined the way of life. The wide road often looked religious, respectable, and socially approved. Yet it left space for pride, boundary-drawing, and loveless obedience.

The narrow path, by contrast, requires submission—to Jesus, not to cultural norms or religious comfort. It calls us away from using Scripture to justify exclusion and toward using our lives to embody God’s justice and mercy.

This path echoes the ancient call of Micah:

“To act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”  - Micah 6:8 (CSB)

Justice is not abstract. It shows up in how we treat immigrants seeking safety and dignity. It shows up in whether LGBTQ+ people encounter the church as a place of harm or healing. Humble submission means allowing Jesus—not fear or tradition—to define who belongs.

In the book of Matthew 7:15-23 Jesus warns against false prophets and unhealthy trees, not to instill anxiety, but to sharpen discernment. What we believe will eventually bear fruit in how we treat people.

Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.

“Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.

“Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our super-spiritual projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’ – Matthew 7:13-23 (MSG)

Fruit is not forced. It grows where lives are rooted in the grace of God. When faith is healthy, it produces love, patience, kindness, and self-giving—not suspicion, control, or exclusion.

A church may speak the right language and defend the “correct” positions yet still bear fruit that wounds immigrants with silence or hostility, or burdens LGBTQ+ people with shame and isolation. Jesus is clear: words alone are not the measure of faithfulness. Character is.

To build a life merely adjacent to Jesus’ words—without allowing them to reshape how we love—is to miss the heart of the gospel. Knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Him. And knowing Him will always move us toward those the world pushes away.

The narrow path forms communities where faith is expressed through relational and spiritual fruit—fruit that resists oppression, confronts injustice, and refuses to sacrifice vulnerable people for the sake of comfort or control.

Jesus ends the Sermon with a stark image: two builders, one foundation that stands, and one that collapses.

 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.” – Matthew 7:24-29

Both builders hear His words. Both face storms. The difference is not belief, but trust—trust strong enough to act.

Building on Jesus’ words means allowing His teaching to shape how we respond when fear rises, when difference feels threatening, and when inclusion costs us something. Storms reveal what we’ve built on. When cultural pressure increases, when neighbors are dehumanized, and when faith is tested, our foundation becomes visible.

Jesus does not promise protection from hardship. He promises stability when hardship comes. Only His words—His way of love, truth, and self-giving grace—can hold the weight of a faithful life.

So, what is the greatest value of the narrow path?

It is the invitation of Jesus to stand on His truth while partnering with Him in the reconciling work of the kingdom—a kingdom where immigrants are not strangers but neighbors, and LGBTQ+ people are not projects but beloved siblings.

The gospel is exclusive in its foundation—Jesus alone—but radically inclusive in its reach. Anyone can build here. Everyone is invited. The narrow path calls for grace and is trustworthy because it is rooted in Christ.

This is not a message of exclusion. It is an open invitation: to walk with Jesus, to be transformed by His love, and to reflect a kingdom wide enough to welcome all whom God loves—which is everyone.