It is a fundamental principle that if you are looking for something you will not find it unless you look in the right location.
Jesus says in John 14:6 "I am the way the truth and the lie no one comes to the father but by me." In saying this he is saying that if you are looking for God there's only one way you will find God if you are seeking for God, there is only one highway that leads to him and that Jesus is that highway. He is the one way to God, and no one will find the God unless they come through him.
People have tried all kinds of ways to find God; many different rituals, many different ascetic practices, pilgrimages to many different places. But Jesus says anything you try, any path you follow, any process you attempt to use, is doomed to failure unless it is Jesus himself. This is an exclusive claim, a claim that is not welcomed by many in our era where nothing is seen as ultimate truth, where multicultural inclusiveness, religious inclusiveness and equal acceptance for all ideas are valued and any claim of exclusivity is rejected.
Despite our misgivings, Jesus makes this exclusive claim. He is the one way to God and if you hope to find God the principle is still true you only find him if you search in the right place. You will only find the path to God if you look where the path is. Looking anywhere else is time-wasting and futile.
Jesus also claims to be the truth. Although science has great value in practical ways, it doesn't lead us to ultimate truth. It can tell us how things are, but not their source. If You're looking for ultimate truth you will not find it in science. All it will tell you is contingent truths truth that is only true because the creator speaks them into being. If you want to know ultimate truth you have to turn to the creator; turn to Jesus Christ. He is the primary truth, the foundation of all other truth.
Finally Jesus says, "I am the life." We talk about people having a green thumb. They seem to have a talent for taking wilted and damaged plants and restoring them back to health. Even these talented people do not give life. They only nourish a life that is already present.
The same is true for doctors and nurses and other medical practitioners. They may have great talent and they certainly can be beneficial to people who are sick, but they do not give life-- they only nourish the life that has already been given by the creator.
In both cases, these people only nourished and protect the life that was already there. But Jesus does far more. When he created the world, he gave life to inanimate matter. That which did not live became living at the touch of his hand. He was the source of all life.
This was only possible because he had life within himself intrinsically. The life overflowing from him produced the life of everything we see today.
- If you are looking for the way to God, look to Jesus.
- If you're looking to find the truth, look to Jesus.
- If you really want to live both in this life and eternally, look to Jesus.
Phil
