That is the path of obedience which every disciple of the Lord is required to follow.  That is the gate which is narrow and the way which is hard (Matthew 7:14) – narrow, because there is no room for deviation or compromise: hard, because an easy-going approach will never negotiate it.

The word obedience has a rather chilly ring, but that is because it is so often thought of as being the outward observance of rules laid down by authority.  Now it is noteworthy that although Holy Scripture rightly describes Our Lord as being obedient, he never uses that word to describe himself.  Instead, he put it another way: I always do what is pleasing to my Father (John 8:29).  The meaning is the same, the spirit is very different.  It is the difference between a formal submission to the rules, and a willing expression of one’s love.