I wonder if you’ve ever tried playing a game of drafts without following the rules? Anyone tried it?
It might seem fun to begin with, but soon the game ends in arguments and chaos, as people make up their own rules as they go along.
Or maybe you’ve just purchased some flat-pack furniture. It looks easy to put together, but if you ignore the instructions and just go ahead, you soon find yourself in a mess.
Or perhaps you’ve been camping and tried putting up a borrowed tent in the dark while it’s raining. It ends in chaos, and you wonder how you’re going to get any sleep. We need instructions.
But we live in a society that often thinks instructions are not needed, and that established values and absolutes should be rejected. No one truth is held to be right, and each person is left to form their own opinion and decide their own way forward.
Even the lessons of history are ignored, and moral standards, political systems, and religion are all treated as equally uncertain. People avoid responsibility, decide their own values, and this can so easily lead to a breakdown in society.
People do exactly what they want, relationships fail, selfishness grows, and no one knows what to trust. There is chaos and hopelessness, with no clear way forward.
We all need boundaries. Thank goodness for them: they prevent confusion, and we need to know where we are going and why we are doing things.
Yet, in today’s world, people are searching for meaning and purpose in life. Many are looking towards God. They want to break out of hopelessness and lack of direction. They are hungry and thirsty for God, and some are even coming back to church. We call that the quiet revival.
They are looking for answers, and when they arrive they can see our faith in God and want to know Him for themselves. It is so important that they find those answers, because if they do not, they will walk away.
So how do we move forward so that people really do find God, and discover that He is real for them? I think John 14, which we have just read, gives us some leads.
In John 14, verse 1, Jesus says, “Do not be worried or upset. Believe in God, and believe also in me.” How precious are these words. The world around us is worrying, and there are many troubles, but God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is reliable, present everywhere, and understands all that we face.
This is especially precious when we remember that God Himself came to earth in Jesus as a human being. So if we are hungry and thirsty for truth, or worried and upset, we can trust God. He will not let us down. Even if everyone else does, God will not.
What good sense it makes, then, to have faith in God and to accept the words of Jesus: “Believe in God and believe also in me.” Let us trust Him for each day, knowing that He will walk with us and see us through. We are not on our own, and amazing things can happen when we trust Him.
Then Jesus continues in John 14, verse 2: “There are many rooms in my Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you.” He would not tell us this if it were not so.
So Jesus has a place for us in His kingdom. If we believe in God, believe in Jesus, repent of our sins, and allow God full control, there will be a special place for us in His kingdom. Yes, that place is in heaven, but it also reminds us that there is a place for us in His kingdom now.
Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us of this: “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.” So God has a plan for each one of us, both in our earthly lives and in heaven afterwards. Let us believe it.
In verse 5, Thomas wants to know more about where Jesus is going, and Jesus’ answer in verse 6 is wonderfully clear: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.”
If we look at Jesus, we see the characteristics of God the Father. He is God in human form, the second person of the Holy Trinity, fully God and fully man. As we look at Jesus, we see what God is like.
It is a little like a cup of water. You do not need to see a reservoir or a sea to know what water is like; you can see it in the cup before you. In the same way, if we look at Jesus, we can see all we need to know about God.
So Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Let us consider what is meant by each of those words.
As the way, Jesus is the only path to God the Father. Men and women search for God in all sorts of places, and often they look in the wrong places. They look at Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam. But I don’t think there’s any satisfaction long-term in any of these religions. And God is not really there.
- – Mainstream Buddhism does not really have a God. It’s all about an enlightenment of the mind. And God is not present.
- – Hinduism does have a main god, Brahman. But in actual fact, the emphasis is on many, many gods. Brahman is hidden and unapproachable.
- – In Islam, there is one mighty God figure, who is to be feared, with rules in the Quran, which must be memorized.
- The Gods of other religions have fearful powers; they must be respected and worshipped.
But Christianity is very different. God is real, and He’s personal to us. He’s part of our lives. He’s not removed and sitting on a cloud. He comes and dwells in us by the power of His Holy Spirit.
So when we become Christians, we invite Him into our lives, and He’s constantly with us. No other religion has such a deep personal relationship with God.
That is not a popular thing to say in a culture that likes to treat all religions as equally valid paths to God. But Jesus does not leave room for that conclusion. He does not say that He is one way among many; He says, “I am the way.” If we take His words seriously, then we must also say, lovingly but clearly, that however sincere people may be in following other religions, they do not lead to the Father. Only Jesus does.
That language of “the way” would have been familiar to the Jews. Moses told the Israelites to walk in the ways of God. Isaiah said, “This is the way; walk in it.” David asked God to teach him His ways. They knew about the way of God and longed to follow it.
In the Old Testament, God’s way was followed through written instructions such as the Ten Commandments, and people often tried to obey in their own strength and failed. But Jesus offers more than rules. He gives us the Holy Spirit, who comes to dwell in us and help us obey His word. We do not follow God simply because of a set of rules, but because God Himself is leading us.
Then we come to the truth. Many voices tell us what is right and wrong—parents, police, employers—but we listen most carefully when someone lives out the truth for themselves. Jesus is perfect. He committed no sin. Therefore He is the perfect model for how to live.
In Jesus we see compassion and gentleness. He treated sinners with firmness but forgiveness, and exposed hypocrites for their falseness. He shows us how to be humble, and how the master is also to be a servant. He summed up the law in two great commandments: love God, and love your neighbour as yourself.
So Jesus is the truth, and we will not go wrong if we seek to live in His ways.
Then we have Jesus as the life. He joins His life to ours and brings new purpose and joy. His power flows through us and works in us each day. How difficult it would be if we had to do everything in our own strength, but what a joy it is to see God at work in us and in other people too.
And of course there is life after death. We do not know fully what heaven is like, but with God there is joy, brightness, and hope beyond anything we know now. So Jesus truly is the way, the truth, and the life.
But the passage does not end there. In verses 12 to 14, Jesus makes two promises that give rise to fruit in the lives of those who follow Him and are led by His Holy Spirit.
The first promise is that His followers would do even greater things than He did. Jesus was not saying that later Christians would perform greater miracles than His, but that through the power of the Holy Spirit the gospel would be carried to the far reaches of the world. God will use all those who are prepared to follow Him, and great things can happen in abundance.
The second promise is that whatever is asked in His name will be granted. That does not mean God answers every prayer exactly as we would wish. Our requests must be in His name and for His purpose, never against His character and will. He will not pander to selfishness. But when we are living in the ways of Jesus, and asking for things that are right and that will expand His kingdom, He hears and answers. Of course, we must take action as well; He prompts us to step out, and He walks with us.
So, to conclude: we live in a world where systems and values are being questioned, and where nothing is taken as clearly right or wrong. That is not God’s way, and it ends in misery and hopelessness.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and there is no other way to God except through Him.
Let us take Jesus at His word. Let us obey Him, believe Him, and cling to His teachings and His standards as shown in the Bible. Let us encourage others to do the same.
Then there will be real life: the sort of life that overflows both now and in eternity.