THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SPIRITISM

Allan Kardec

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THE NARROW DOOR

3. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew, 7: 13-14).

4. Then said one unto Him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And He said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able, when once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and He shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are; then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets. But He shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence you are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God, and, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last (Luke, 13: 23-30).

5. Wide is the door to damnation, because evil passions are numerous and the vast majority of humanity follow this pathway. That of salvation is narrow, because Man is obliged to exert great control over himself in order to dominate his evil tendencies if he wishes to pass through, and this is something that few are resigned enough to do. It complements the maxim 'Many are called, but few are chosen.'

This then is the situation of terrestrial humanity, because as the Earth is a world of atonement, evil is the predominating factor. When the planet has been transformed the pathway to goodness will be the one most frequently followed. Therefore these words should be understood in a relative manner and not as an absolute. If this was to be the permanent state of humanity then God would have condemned the great majority of His creatures to damnation, which is an inadmissible supposition since we recognise that God is all justice and all kindness.

But what crimes has humanity committed to deserve such an unhappy state of affairs, in the present and the future, if everything here on Earth is so degraded, and if the soul has had no other existences? Why are there so many obstacles placed before each one? Why is the gateway so narrow as to allow only a few to enter if the destiny of the soul is permanently determined immediately after death? In this way, with only one existence, Man would always be at odds with himself and with God's justice. But with the pre-existence of the soul and the plurality of worlds, the horizons spread out; enlightenment comes to even the most obscure points of faith; the present and the future become linked to the past and it is then that it is possible to understand the depth, truth and wisdom of those words spoken by Christ.

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