Jesus was talking to His apostles, explaining that where He was going, they would come, but they wouldn’t follow Him immediately the way they had on the Judean soil they had walked. He had said, “And you know the way to where I am going.”
One of His followers, Thomas, piped up and said, “Uh, no, Jesus, we don’t know. We have no idea where you’re going or how to get there.” (Don’t you love that God included these moments when the apostles sound just like us?)
Jesus’ response was that HE is the Way, Truth, and Life. In the original language, He was saying He is the ONLY Way, the REAL Truth, and the REAL Life. He clearly declares that there is no other way to the Father except through Him.
Trouble is, when we think of a “way” anywhere, we think roadmap. We think GPS. We think pathway. We don’t think of a person. But our God is all about upending our thinking and making us rely on Him.
Thus, Jesus is the Way to the Father. Not just a roadmap or GPS. He is the LIVING WAY, the Way who came to us, the Way that knows how we feel. He is more than a pathway, He is the way we walk the path.
We humans like our lists with steps. We like to know the next thing on the list of things to do. We want this going-to-Heaven thing to be a checklist. I did this ✔️ and this ✔️ and this ✔️! I’m on my way! My ticket is secured, now I just wait for the moment when I leave here and go there.
God wants us to grab hold of Jesus and never let go. He wants us to walk in His steps, to follow His instructions, to grow in our faith throughout our journey until that time when we meet Him face to face.
We need to get this message deeply ingrained: there is no “and” when it comes to the Way. It’s not Jesus AND baptism. It’s not Jesus AND living right. It’s not Jesus AND anything. The way to God is only Jesus. In Him we will realize the real Truth and Life as we journey through our eternity that has already begun.
Hear me, though, when we are following Jesus, we will be obedient to Him. We will be baptized, we will live right, we will be different than the world around us, we will do/be/seem as He is— but that’s in obedience to Him, not a list of prerequisites to get to the Father.
Today’s the best day ever to join the Way, Truth, and Life on your journey through life. Your eternity has begun.
I learned a long time ago to understand that when I talk about truth I’m not just talking about facts, I’m not just talking about this thing that it is actually this way, when somebody else might say it’s this way. Truth is a Person. Truth is the Savior. And when I look at that, it’s like being sure that I have the facts right, being sure that I’m telling things the way that they truly are, which so many times it’s as we see them, which cannot can possibly be untrue. When I realized that Truth is a Person and that I must always go to Him for understanding– When I want to know what to do in any circumstance if I will go to the Truth, the Way and the Life, then I will have the correct answers.
I talked with a friend about how so many people see a situation as it is before them, but they don’t see reality. See, what we can see with our own eyes is not always reality. Because God has the reality. And we’re just seeing what our human eyes are capable of seeing and what our human minds are capable of understanding. And that’s not always reality. The fact is, all we have to do is grab hold of Him. In Jesus is our salvation. In Jesus is our eternity of life and joy and peace. Through the Holy Spirit is love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and gentleness and faithfulness and self control. There is so much to be had by accepting this Way, by choosing Jesus.
I don’t ever want to try to point somebody to Him as an escape from hell. He is that, but He is so much more! And I always want to help people understand that He’s not just a savior, not just the rescuer, He is Life. He is Truth. He is the Way. And it’s not just the immediate way to salvation. He’s the way for today and He’s the way for tomorrow and He’s the way, ongoing, that I’m going to need to walk through my life. You too. Accepting these words that John wrote makes our whole thinking change. Perspective becomes different, and we see things differently. I invite you today to choose Jesus as the Way, to lean on Him as the Truth and the Life. The everything that you’re seeking. You can do it. I know you can. I believe in you. Better than that, God Himself believes in you. He is for you, my friend.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
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