Saturday, January 26, 2008
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
I AM THE WAY
We grabbed his glove and hat, rushed out the door, and headed for practice. When we got there he said, "This isn't where I'm having practice tonight." "What do you mean," I replied, "this is where you always have practice." "Not tonight!" he said, "I'm having it at the field I play at." "But that isn't anywhere near here. Why didn't you tell me that before we got here?" "Well, I didn't know this wasn't the way!"
That's how it is when you're a child. When you're a kid Mom and Dad are the way. You just go where they go and you're there.
The lesson of today's verse is similar. When we look at life in its big picture, eternally and spiritually, we find that on our own we can never know the way. Without Jesus we are hopelessly lost. Without Him life is aimless wandering. Jesus is the Way! He is the only Way!
Sometimes even believers need to remember what it's really all about. Jesus' words, "I am the Way," remind us of something very important. They remind us that we are not saved by a religious system. We are saved by a person -- the God-Man whose name is Jesus. So the big question is never: "Is my name on a church membership list?" The question is: "What is my relationship to Jesus Christ?" The important question is never: "Do I have a certificate which shows I've been confirmed." It is: "Is Jesus Christ a living and breathing part of my life right now?" The question isn't even: "What's most important in my life?" That's a no-brainer. Rather: "Since Jesus is most important, how can I ever let anything interfere with the bond I have with Him? He is the only one Who could take away my sins, defeat the devil and destroy death. He is the Way to eternal life."
How truly wonderful to be on the right road -- the one that leads to life with God forever in heaven! Thank God for showing us the Way! What a privilege to reach out in love to our friends and neighbors and show them the Way, too!
Thou art the Way, the Truth, the Life;
Grant us that Way to know,
That Truth to keep, that Life to win,
Whose joys eternal flow. Amen.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 355:4)
