March 28, 2024

He is the Way, the Truth and the Life

A Visionary Dream

John 14:6 is a very familiar passage to the believer.  It’s fundamental to a a believer’s salvation, especially the last part:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. – John 14:6

This passage teaches both the exclusiveness of the message—Christ is the only way—but it also teaches something about Jesus—about who He is.

What’s important is that we read the first part of this verse and understand what He is saying:

  • He did not say, “I will show you the way.”
  • He did not say, “I will give you a road map.”
  • He did not say, “I will tell you which direction to head.”
  • He said, “I am the way.”

There’s importance in that distinction.  Christians today want to know what God’s will is both now, for the year ahead, and for the rest of their life.  But Jesus didn’t say that He would give them that.  He said that He would give them what they needed today.

Bible Examples

One of the interesting things you will find is that if you go back and look at different times that God talked with man and told him His plan, God didn’t tell that person the whole plan up front.  For instance, Abram was told1 that he was to leave where he was and go to a land that God would show him.

He didn’t tell Abram where the land was.  He didn’t describe it, or use Google maps to give him the shortest route.  He told him to get up and go.

When Jesus was giving the sermon on the mount, he told His followers that they should simply be concerned with today, and not worry about tomorrow2.  He said that we needed to seek God in a daily pursuit—not worrying about what would happen down the road.

And yet, like the child that jumps to the end of an adventure tale to find out how it ends, we want God to tell us everything that’s going to happen and what He’ll want us to do up front.  Like we think that will give us an option or something.

“What’s God’s Will for My Life?”

That’s the wrong question.  The right question is “What is God’s will?”  The big difference is in the object.  In the first question, the object is me and focused on me.

We live in a post It’s a Wonderful Life culture where we believe that, just like George Bailey, if we’re not around to do something3, then God can’t get it done.  The problem with this is that it is bad theology.

God is at work around us, and He will get His plan accomplished.  We need to see what He is doing and join him in that work.

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  1. Gen 12:1-5 []
  2. Matt 6:33-34 []
  3. In the movie, George’s brother dies because he wasn’t there, his boss the pharmacist is thrown in jail for poisoning some kids, his wife never marries, his arch enemy owns the town, and many die in WW II. []

2 thoughts on “He is the Way, the Truth and the Life

  1. I always thought it was interesting that when Jesus called his disciples, He only said, “Follow me,” but never where. How many people would get up and leave at such a calling today?

    Rachels last blog post..Demonstrating Faith

  2. @Rachel: Tell me about it. There is so much that surrounds that call– that God the Father had already chosen them, that Jesus said “Follow me” and they just did, that they were the first Apostles.

    These men are the ultimate demonstration that it’s not the person– the person is just the tool and it can be anyone!– it’s God.

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