I Am The Way

ByJim Stephens

Scripture: John 14:1-14 (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” (John 14:4-7 NLT)

I so appreciate Thomas and his down-to-earth honesty! He doesn’t get the kind of coverage that Peter, Andrew, James, and John get in the Gospels, but when he talks, he almost always has a question, and it’s usually a question I’d have wanted to ask if I’d been there. “We have no idea where you’re going, Master, so how can we know the way? You said you’re going to the Father—to God. Where’s God? How do we get to God?” Jesus replied, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Jesus is the Way. If we want to go where Jesus is going, we get there by following him. Because he is the way to the Father. When we follow Jesus, we will end up where he is. How do we follow Jesus? We open our hearts to his Spirit and let him guide us.

Jesus is the Truth. The way we follow Jesus is to hear, believe, and obey the truth. That means the truth and the truths Jesus taught. We don’t only read them in the Gospels, we believe them, and we look for how to apply those truths in living our lives.

Jesus is the Life. When we follow and listen and learn and obey and apply the truth to our lives, we are transformed. We think differently, we talk differently, we behave differently, we live differently. We live the life—we live the Jesus life. When we follow Jesus (The Way) by internalizing and applying Jesus (The Truth) we will actually be living like Jesus (The Life).

There’s no set of rules that can get us to the Father. There’s no course of theological study that can get us to the Father. There’s no organization we can join to gain access to the Father. There’s no standard of achievement that will give us access to the Father. There’s only Jesus, who is the Son of the Father, who shares his Sonship with us as we follow, as we grow and change, and as we live the new Jesus life.

Prayer:

Father, We come to you through Jesus, the only Way, Truth, and Life. Thank you for receiving us into your home and your family. For Jesus’ sake, Amen!