How can we know the way? (John 14:5)
Your brother is going on a business trip, but he
won’t say where. “You should know me well enough by now to know where
I’m going,” he says. Evidently, it’s not knowledge of geography you
need; it’s knowledge of your brother—his ways and his habits.
The night before his death, Jesus tells his disciples that he is
going to his “Father’s house.” He says there are plenty of “dwelling
places” for them there and, surprisingly, that they already know how to
get there (John 14:2).
You can appreciate the disciples’ surprised reaction: “We do not know
where you are going; how can we know the way?” (14:5). What the
disciples don’t yet understand is that they don’t need a map to reach
this destination; they need a person. They need him—his way of living,
the truths that he has taught them, and his life poured out in sacrifice
for them.
What a revolutionary teaching! Of course Jesus gave us commandments
as a way to live, but he also summed up all of them in the two greatest
commands: to love God and to love one another. If we can just try to do
these two things, everything else will fall into place.
Don’t you find it comforting that you don’t need to adhere to every
single direction in order to find your heavenly “dwelling place”? In
fact, that dwelling place isn’t far off at all. A little bit after he
told his disciples that he was the way, Jesus made another promise:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we
will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23). You are
the dwelling place of God—he is already in you!
This is a great paradox of the Christian life: the more you settle
down and spend time with Jesus, the farther you will travel on the road
to union with him. The way isn’t a set of prescriptions to follow; it’s a
Person to love. And even better still: this Person loves you even more.
He wants to dwell with you.
“Jesus, you are my way, my truth, and my life.”
from wau.org
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