The Only Way
JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read John 14:1-6.
Verse of the Day: “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).
“Honey, wake up,” Mom said, nudging her husband, who reclined in the front passenger seat while she drove.
Dad rubbed his eyes, sat up, and raised the back of his seat. They had traveled many hours to get to his brother’s new house in a distant city. Mom had driven the last hundred miles.
“We’re almost there,” she said. “John said to look for two stone pillars on the side of the street. Would you help me look on that side?”
“Yes,” Dad said. He gazed out the windshield, looking for the pillars.
After a few moments, Dad yelled, “There it is!” and pointed to a pair of stone pillars flanking the entrance to a side street.
“Yea!” Randy cheered. “We’re almost there! Is this Uncle John’s street?”
Mom smiled. “Not yet. But Uncle John said there’s only one way to get to his street, and that’s through those stone pillars.”
“There’s only one way to get to heaven, too,” Dad said. He turned in his seat to face the kids. “And you know what that way is, right?”
“Being good!” Randy answered.
“No,” Dad answered. “None of us is ever good enough to get to heaven. The only way to heaven is by knowing Jesus and letting him make us good.”
“But aren’t we supposed to obey the Ten Commandments?” Marcia asked. Dad nodded. “Yes, but only Jesus can get us to heaven. He said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.’ When we love Jesus and put our faith in him, he helps us obey his commands. We’re not Christians because we obey his commands. It’s the other way around-we obey him because we’re Christians.”
Suddenly, Dad, Marcia, and Randy realized that Mom had stopped the car. “We’re finally here,” she said, “and you three act like you want to stay in the car for another ten hours!”
“Not me!” Randy cried as he unbuckled his seat belt and opened the car door. “Me neither!” Marcia added.
TO DISCUSS: When we trust Christ for salvation, God’s Holy Spirit actually enters our lives (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16). It is the Holy Spirit that claims and seals us for God, not the following of commandments (Ephesians 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22). Obedience is a result of our relationship with God, not the cause of it. Are you following the one who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”? How does knowing Jesus help you obey his commands?
TO PRAY: “Father God, thank you for sending your only Son to die in our place. Because of him, we can have eternal life.”