May 4 I Thursday

1 Kings 16-18

Luke 22:47-71

 

 

“I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”    —John 14:6

 

The above verse is probably the most controversial statement Jesus made in Scripture. It would be completely acceptable to the masses if He had said, “I am a way, I am a truth, I am a life; you may come to the Father through Me,” but Jesus is emphatic and exclusive about Himself being the only way in which we may come to God.

       There are four absolutes in this statement: “I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life,” and “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Perhaps there is a fifth in that Jesus has made these facts about Himself the cornerstone of the Christian Gospel. These are not merely theoretical, propositional or doctrinal statements; they are the person of Jesus Christ Himself. This is what makes Christianity non-negotiable.

       Truth cannot exist in equal measure with falsehood. There are times truth has to debate with falsehood, and it can also be neglected, forgotten and overlooked, but it cannot coexist in equal measure. If all religions were false, we could adjust and evolve them into something a little more to our liking, but we cannot do that if one claims to be the truth. The popular notion is that there are many paths going up different sides of the same mountain; Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, the Jewish faith, Christianity and many others all have their own paths with different experiences along the way, but we find ourselves coming to the top of the same mountain. In other words, according to this view, we are all going to the same place and it does not matter which path we take. But if Jesus Christ is to be believed, this is simply not true.

       For many people, the greatest value and virtue in religious belief is sincerity. As long as we are sincere, we can get all the details wrong because God knows our hearts and our sincerity will one day pay off. That does not work if we are sincerely wrong. Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)—that is as exclusive as it gets.

       God, however, makes this promise: “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). This does not mean seeking a faith that most suits our lifestyles but seeking the truth. God gives us an exclusive message about an exclusive truth that leads to an exclusive way, which results in an exclusive life that derives from an exclusive person—Jesus Christ, who is Himself the Christian Gospel.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray for everyone seeking the truth to find it in Him. Thank You, Lord.


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