The Way
Scripture Reading: John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus didn’t come to give a set of teachings about how to live a good life. In a sense, he wasn’t giving us instructions on a path to follow to get to heaven. Some religious teachers teach a way, steps, or rituals that they say will gain you favor with God. They are not necessary to the way once you know it. The information is distinct and separate from them.
Not so with Jesus. Yes, Jesus taught the truth. Yes, he told us the way to heaven. But we cannot separate Him from that. In this verse, Jesus does not say, “Let me tell you the way.” He says, “I am the way.”
Stanley Jones told a story about a missionary who got lost in an African jungle. There was nothing around him but bushland. While wandering about, trying to find his way home, he came across the hut of a native family. The man of the family said he would show him the way home.
The native man simply said, “Walk,” and began hacking his way through the bush with a long machete.
After walking for several hours, the missionary began to worry that the man didn’t know where he was going. He asked him if he was sure this was the way.
The native man answered that it was.
“But where is the path?” the missionary asked.
“The native man stopped, looked at the missionary, and replied, “In this place, there is no path. I am the path.”
And so it is with Jesus.
Much gratitude for the good word!