S133P1 – Words to live by: one way
Jn. 14:5-6
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Her goal was to reach the apex of her discipline. The problem was that the track from where she was to that destination would be a long one. It was one thing to study for four years for a degree. It was quite another thing to complete not one but two graduate degrees afterward. She tried to find one or more shortcuts to shrink the journey, but it would not work. Each step of that education had to be completed. Not only that, her progress depended on her faithfulness in completing her studies with excellence. The field was competitive, so she could not just scrape by. If she wanted that degree, and if she wanted to enjoy its fruit, she would have to endure the only journey that could get her there.
Deciding to take the step to follow Jesus Christ and give your life to him must be prefaced by the confession that He is the only way. To follow Christ is to believe in him and in his words, to believe that He spoke only that which is true. If that is the case, then we always take him at his word. When He says that He is the only way, we believe that. We do not entertain other alternatives. We do not try to fit the doctrine taught by Christ with other “good” teachings. We do not accept that any other formulation of beliefs will get us there. It is a required state of non-compromise without which faith in Christ cannot be lived genuinely. This line cannot be more clearly drawn in the scriptures.
There are some who live by tenets drawn from many different religious sources. They take the message of peace from this faith and the autonomy taught in that faith, and they choose to believe whatever fits best in their life. They make their faith submit to them. Christianity goes the other way. We are the ones who must submit and conform to the principles and requirements of the faith. That is because it is the only answer, and any alteration would render it ineffective and useless. We do not make our faith; our faith makes us. Father, keep us faithful to follow Christ as our one and only way to You, to forget and dismiss every other doctrine that tries to rob us of the power and fruit of the faith.