Those who had tried replacing wallpaper know exactly what has to be done.
First you have to tear down the old wallpaper. If there is another layer of old wallpaper beneath it, you too have to strip it down to the bare wall. Some may take the shorter route by pasting the new wallpaper over the old wallpaper. By stripping down to the bare wall, you will definitely need more time to prepare the wall and then taking it off.
In our lives we can either wallpaper over the old, doing half a job in a hurry and thinking it looks good, but with results which will not stand up to the test of time; or we can take the time and effort to do the wallpapering correctly, with results which bring lasting satisfaction.
In today's scripture, we are told that small is the gate and narrow the road which leads to life, while broad is the road that leads to destruction. Here the small gate and narrow road lead through Christ, while the broad road is human self-justification. Thinking that I am saved and that God loves me just because I am a good person in my own eyes is not the way. This is like putting on a new layer of wallpaper without tearing down the old. One must die to self, and start out as a new creation in Christ. It is only through faith in Jesus that one can find salvation. Sometimes this faith in Jesus calls us to make an effort in our life
Matthew 7:13-14
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
(0642 13VII2008)