03.11 | The Way
John 14
‘Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”’
John 14:5-6
Many of the questions that people have about the Christian walk come down to trying to understand what God wants of them.
What does God want me to do with my life?
How do I navigate this relationship?
How do I get closer to the Father?
Am I allowed to …?
Most of our questions display a deeper desire. We want a code of conduct—a way of being and doing—that gives us clear rules and regulations, directions and boundaries. We want a manual to life, that will give us clarity and direction, and answer our questions. We spend a lot of time wondering what the will of God is, anxiously worrying that we will miss His purposes for us, and so, somehow, fall into suffering and pain through our errors.
With all this in mind, Thomas’ question is familiar.
How can we know the way?
Jesus has said that He is going to the Father. He has spoken of the mansions of His house. He has described the realities of heaven and the pathway that leads through the cross.
And yet, the listening disciples don’t know how to get there.
Jesus’ response sets the for for how every step of the Christian walk is to happen:
I am the Way.
Familiarity with these words can make us miss their power. For these words describe the orientation of the Christian walk in every single moment of our lives. They are the answer to your every question. They are the priority of your every moment. Were we to truly live into these words, no obstacle would be too great for us, and our lives would move endlessly in their most perfect meaning and purpose.
Look at what Thomas wants. He wants the way to the Father. He wants the road map to heaven. He knows that there is a good life out there before him, but he doesn’t know how to get there.
I am the Way.
The Christian Way is not a set of principles or a code of conduct. It is not a set of laws or requirements. It is not a road map to follow, that can be universally applied in any given situation.
The Christian Way is only, every, and always a directing of the life towards Jesus. At the simplest level, your answer to every question in life will always and only be Him.
This, to me, is as liberating as it is maddening. For the wayward human heart constantly desires independence. We want a program. We principles. We want an Idiot’s Guide to Life that will give us foolproof solutions to living well.
But Jesus doesn’t give us this. He rarely gives us more than the next step. He allows us to walk into seasons of pain and problems, and always and only the exclusive requirement in such moments is not to find a set of principles, but to find Him. Every major question in life we will ever have stretches our soul in this way: do we seek an answer, or do we seek the Answerer? Do we seek the life of the heavens, or do we seek the only One who can lead us there? Do we seek a life of happiness and order, or do we more essentially—in every moment and every question and every yearning—seek Him?
Shift your gaze, my friends. He is the Way. Direct your gaze in this season of waiting toward Him, trusting His timing and trusting Him for His outworking of His purposes. In suffering and joy. In failure and success. In hopes fulfilled and those things deeply yearned for. For today, disciple of the Lord, He looks you in the eye, knowing the deepest yearnings of your heart, and He reminds you:
I am the Way.
Reflect:
What decisions do I carry in this moment about my direction?
Lay down your hunt for answers. Change the posture of your heart to seek Him before anything else.
Pray:
Lord Jesus,
I have so many unanswered questions,
So many moments when I feel lost,
So many seasons where the direction is unclear,
Leaving me confused and indecisive.
And yet, Lord,
You are the Way.
And so,
In this moment,
I set my gaze again—
Not primarily to the answers,
But primarily to You.
And, in so doing,
May I find myself upon your path for me,
That as I walk towards You,
This life may inhabit
The perfect purposes of the Father.
In Your Name,
Amen
Old Testament:
For those also reading the Old Testament this year, your additional readings are here:
Ezekiel 7-9 | Psalm 122