Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:5-7, NIV

 

If you are not at your home, you are on your way somewhere. You usually know where you want to go. You know how to get there or, if you do not know, you ask the way.

 

Jesus says he is on his way to go and prepare room for us in his Father’s house. When he said this, Thomas confessed: “I do not know the way, how am I going to get there?” I love Thomas’ role in the gospel, willing to express his doubts. He asks what we usually also want to know, but do not have the courage to ask.

The final destination of our life’s journey is to be with Jesus forever. Jesus says: “I am the Way to my Father’s house. Whomever follows me will get there safely.” Jesus came to this world to restore the relationship between God and us. When we follow Christ, he leads us to our destination. This is the truth that Hebrews 12:1-2 also teaches us: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

 

Jesus says, “I am the Truth.” It remains one of the most pressing questions in life: who am I? From a very young age, we are busy gathering information from the world around us. Who are my parents? Where do I fit in my family? What do I dream of doing for an occupation? Where do my interests lay? What makes my heart beat faster and what do I fear in life? The information we receive from the world around us is not always accurate. I am not always, in every way, the winner or champion. Sometimes, I feel small and insignificant. I doubt my own worth. The truth of Jesus is that I was fearfully and wonderfully created by a loving God (Psalm 139:14); I am loved. God wants to share the journey of my life as a Father, caring deeply for me. He wants to bless me with all that I need to honour him. In his love, he guides me every step of the way. I am more than a conqueror through his love (Romans 8:37). The truth of Jesus builds me up and guides me on a good path.

 

Jesus says, “I am the Life.” In Romans 6:23, we learnt that sin brought death into this world. It is not just physical death, it also brought destruction to all we hold dear – in that which is beautiful to us, in our relationships and even in nature. However, Jesus came to this world to restore the world, and us as his children. He died so that we could live. He came to bring life, life in abundance (John 10:10). “This new life in Christ endures for ever,” Jesus said in John 6:47. Where we follow him, we are being restored in what is beautiful, edifying, in our relationships and even in our stewardship of nature.

 

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being the Way, thank you for your truth, thank you for my new life in Christ! Help me to follow in your footsteps until I reach our Father’s house. Thank you for everlasting, abundant life! Amen.