The gate to the Kingdom is narrow

God: Why do you think Jesus said the gate to the Kingdom is
narrow?
Me: Seems to me He was reminding us that admission is not
automatic.
God: Exactly! Jesus told his disciples that just hanging around
in his company wasn’t enough. Only those will be admitted
who truly follow him in his life of ultimate love.
When we say, “to spare the rod is to spoil the child” we do not
mean that the more we beat a child, the better adult he
becomes. This saying is simply a caution that if we do not
discipline a child, he will not discipline himself as an adult. If
we spoil a child we raise a selfish adult.
To say that the first and the last will be reversed is to caution
everyone about being too secure in their present position and
to remind them that there is someone else who makes the final
judgment. This parable is a warning to those in first place not
to be presumptuous and to those in last place not to despair.
And what about us who are neither first nor last, hot nor cold,
but lukewarm and mediocre? We live on the cusp of hope.
We are sinners who know that God wants sinners not to die
but to live. We are fainthearted followers who believe that
God is greater than our hearts!