JOHN 14:6

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

TO PONDER

I have to confess that, to date, my understanding of this verse has been on the exclusiveness of Jesus as the means of gaining access to our Heavenly Father. We can become God’s children (and have eternal life) only because of Jesus’s life, death and resurrection. I have glossed over the “truth” and “life” claims of Jesus. This is understandable to some extent since Jesus had been talking about the ‘way” to where He was going to prepare a place for them. When His disciple, Thomas, said he didn’t know the “way”, we have Jesus confirming that He was the “way”, the “truth” and the “life”.

When Thomas said he didn’t know the way to where Jesus was going, Jesus could have just said the He was the “way”. Why did He add that He was also the “truth” and the “life”?

When we talk about how to get from one place to another, we older people would usually reference a physical map to find a way. Now we would reference a GPS based app on a phone or one provided by our vehicle. It basically gives impersonal directions.

But when Jesus says He is the way, He is saying come with me and I will take you along the way. So instead of getting on the highway and just going as fast as possible from A to B, Jesus offers us the scenic route where we experience life with Him while we journey from today to the last day of our life on this earth. Jesus is there with us as we face challenges and obstacles along the way. He is also there as He takes us on little side excursions to grow in knowing Him and learning His truths. The mental picture I have here is Jesus sitting with His disciples in a field of wild flowers while He teaches them and tells them how to live life as His disciples.

Prayer: Dear brother Jesus, thank You for not only showing us the way, but going with us on the way, to encourage and support us on our life’s journey. Amen

Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping