The Door of Humility - Enter as a Tourist, Leave as a Pilgrim

Here is a picture of Toni and I entering the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem through the Door of Humility.

You can see how small the entry is.  In order to enter the church through this door (there are other more accessible doors to enter the church) you have to stoop down or crawl through it, hence the Door of Humility.  

There is a plaque nearby that says, "If you enter as a tourist, we hope you will leave as a pilgrim.  If you enter as a pilgrim we hope you will leave as a holier pilgrim."

We were told that the door was made smaller centuries ago to prevent animals from entering the church.  You can see the indentation on the threshold where countless pilgrims have entered through this tiny doorway. Seeing it brings to mind Jesus' admonition in Matthew 7:13-14: 

‘Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.