Good Thursday morning! Wow, we have one of those winter winds going today, and one of those get up because the wind is making too much noise to sleep mornings. Of course on the other side of the house, where the wind noise isn't so bad, I want to fall asleep in the chair. Some days the weather just doesn't make it easy to get going. Some days, I cannot account for a feeling of optimism, possibility, and joy when I have no earthly reason for feeling this way. Where does this feeling come from? In Christ, the answer is obvious, we have joy, peace, and optimism because Jesus wants us to have life abundantly. In the world, they would commission some expensive, double-blind, psychological, psychosomatic, post-modernistic, brain study to find some gene or chemical to account for an unreasonable feeling of optimism. You know that study would probably be able to find something too. The pressure of a 30 gazillion dollar grant might have something to do with it. Wouldn't you want to produce a result if someone gave you a bunch of loot to find the answer? :-) In either case, the start of the answer lies in what or whom we believe in. The perfect choice remains: believe in Jesus and you will find Him; believe in the world and you will find answers there too. We and the world will disagree on which answers are right and true, but that is the crux of the issue.
The verse that I am studying contains the assertion by Jesus, "I am the way, the truth, and the life..." At one time the world, and the powers therein, tried to flat out deny that. The Pharisees and other religious leaders would try to stone Jesus after a statement like that, and they did eventually succeed in crucifying Him when He allowed it. Later, the world decided that flat out denial would not work as well as a more subtle lie. The world would now have us fall for just one little word change in that wonderful statement. Instead of "the", as in the Way, the world would have us read it as, "a way, a truth, and a life." and then forget about the part where no one can come to the Father except through Jesus. If Jesus is only a way then there are other ways. Ways that the world would have us tolerate as equally valid. If Jesus is only a truth, then.. well you can see where that is going. However, we know that Jesus never gave options where eternal life is concerned. He is not one of many ways, or one of many truths, but the way, the truth, and the life, and let us never forget that very important second part, "no one can come to the Father except through me." When we say that we are followers of the Way, that grows from John 14:6. We could also state that we are followers of the Truth, or followers of the Life, or even all three. Today, we like to simplify it to: we are followers of Jesus.
In Christ we are not salesmen offering options to gain a customer, "Well, if that one is too expensive, you might try this one over here. It is an easier way, with only part of the truth, and the payments won't be as high as the premium model." No, we can only offer one way and one truth to eternal life in Christ. The great thing is that the cost is something anyone can afford: Jesus already paid it! No payments, no terms, no variable interest rate, no contract... your eternal life has already been purchased by the blood of Christ. One might say, "Yeah, I can live with that..." Actually, you can't live without it!
Praise God for the life of our Lord Jesus!
Bucky
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