Thought for 8 December

John 14:6 (New Living Translation)

⁶ Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

If you read the thought for the day for Monday 6^th December, you would have learned about or maybe been reminded about the seven ‘I am’ pronouncements found in the gospel of John. On Monday we read about Jesus saying ‘I am the Good Shepherd’ and today’s daily reading from the Bible Gateway website provides us with another, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’.  I’m reasonably sure we’ll all have heard this statement that Jesus made before and maybe even heard a sermon preached that has been based upon it.  If we were asked what it meant, could any of us easily provide an answer.  When I write these thoughts every second week, I do not approach them thinking I’m attempting to teach anyone about the bible.  Quite simply, I’m sharing what I have learned by studying or contemplating the daily reading.  You may agree or disagree with my views but, by doing so, it probably means you have contemplated the same passage of scripture and that is surely a good thing.

Over the years, my opinions and views of Christianity have varied between thinking that sometimes it can be made to sound very complicated with different people interpreting the meaning of passages of scripture in differing ways.  At other times, I find myself thinking that the message is fairly simple.  When we read about Jesus teaching the ‘multitudes’ in the bible, it is clearly pointed out that there were children present, poor people, sick people, people who had broken the law, ordinary people (we can assume many would have had little education).  We are also told that his preaching was heard by the Scribes and Pharisees who would not be struggling to make ends meet or put food on the table and were regarded as educated people and extremely knowledgeable concerning the scriptures.  Maybe the answer is that the message is complicated when heard by the biblical scholars and Jewish leaders and simple when heard by ordinary folks.  Maybe that conclusion is as true today as it was all those years ago.

Jesus Christ is THE Way that leads to the Father. He sent the Word, made flesh, into the world, to redeem a fallen race of people, whom He had made in His own image and likeness - a race that had fallen into rebellion and sin. Jesus not only points the way to our heavenly Father and our eternal home, but He is the Way, for no one comes to the Father except by faith in the Son.

Jesus Christ is THE Truth who opens up our understanding of God and gives us knowledge of God - a truth that confounds the wisdom of man and a truth that silences all the presuppositions of prideful humanity. Jesus not only teaches the truth, but He is incarnate Truth. He is the personification of Truth - for truth can only be found in Christ, who is the embodiment of all Truth.

Jesus Christ is THE Life, who breathes His own resurrected life into a fallen man, by faith. Every man is born spiritually dead in trespasses and sins and is incapable of saving himself or of communicating with a holy God. But Christ is the Source of all spiritual life and in Him is eternal life for all who trust in His redemptive work. It is through faith in Him that we are made a new creation in Christ. It is by faith in Him that we are in-dwelt by the Spirit of God Who enlivens us - body, soul, and spirit... in time and throughout eternity.

Jesus is the way which every one of us must follow. Jesus is the truth in Whom we must believe. Jesus is the life in Whom we have our hope. And Jesus said - NO ONE comes to the Father but through Me. There is no other way to God; no other truth about God; and no other life apart from God. Christ's claim is exclusive. The one and only way, truth, and life is JESUS. No other religion, no other faith, no other path, no other philosophy, and no other gospel leads the sinner to God the Father, tells the truth about Him, and gives us His eternal life - other than JESUS. And this is a non-negotiable fact, and may we be willing to share the good news that Jesus Christ is the Way and the Truth and the Life, with whomsoever the Lord may place in our path.

Thanks to Source: https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/john-14-6.

Prayer             Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are the Way, the Truth and the Life and that when we hear this passage of scripture, we will take the time to contemplate it’s profound meaning and whether we are uneducated, exceptionally well educated or somewhere in between, we are assured that a real faith in Christ alone is the only way for this life and the next.   Amen