Jesus said that He is the way, the truth and the life. Truth and life are found only in Him, and the way we find these things is by living in the way He commands us. There is no alternate truth and no alternate life. We can believe the things He said and live, or reject His words and perish. These thoughts can be very divisive and are often seen as intolerant, but Jesus did not come to bring tolerance; He came to bring redemption and love to all who would believe and walk in His way. People want to believe that there are many truths or perhaps many paths to truth, but this belief is diametrically opposed to what Jesus said. There is no “and” or “or” to finding life; there is only Jesus.
This is a simple teaching, yet one that is hard to accept. The fact that there is only one way to truth and life makes it fairly easy to make the right choice. We don’t have ten different paths to confuse our decision; there is only one. Yet this teaching is difficult because we want to go our own way. We want to blaze our own trail, and having to succumb to the ways of another finds us wanting to rebel. The narrow path is brightly lit and lined with people who have gone before us who are there to keep us from stumbling off the road. Yet we are stubbornly intent on walking down the wider path, even though it is dimly lit and has dangerous cliffs on either side. When one takes a moment to step back and logically examine the choices, which way we should go becomes painfully obvious.
Jesus is the only way, and everything He says is true. While we can debate the finer points of modern church organization and disagree over worship styles and evangelism methods, Jesus is not up for disputation. He is who He said He was, and His instructions are clear. Throughout the Bible we find the common theme of caring for the poor and seeking justice for all people. We see that love is the greatest gift and the most powerful weapon. Love, justice, and mercy; these characteristics are the truth of Jesus. Paul said in I Corinthians chapter 13 that we can have all there is, but if we lack love then everything else becomes futile and worthless. If we don’t have love, then we don’t have truth. If we don’t have truth, we don’t have Jesus.
If we possess and practice love as Christ did, we will find the life that only He can offer. The love of Jesus is unconditional and unselfish. It is much different from the so-called love we find in the world today. We have so carelessly tossed around the word “love” that we have stripped it of its beauty and meaning. We say we love ice cream, football, surround sound, and sex; no wonder we’re confused by what it means to truly love as Jesus did. Serving others, having compassion on the poor, selflessly denying yourself so that someone else might have what they otherwise would not – this is the love modeled by Jesus. Until we learn to love as He did, we will lack truth and be unable to find our way along the path that leads to life.
Where do you find yourself today? Do you believe that Jesus is the only truth, the only salvation for mankind? Do you understand what it means to walk in the way that He did? Where are you in regards to living your life in love and service to others? These are questions of eternal importance. Where you spend eternity hinges on your answers to these questions. Jesus said that without Him, we will die. If we trust in His truth and live in love as we walk the road He travelled before us, we will find life in Him. If you have been seeking truth outside of Jesus, confess that to Him in prayer today. Acknowledge that you’ve missed the mark and have been walking on the wrong path. Ask Him to teach you to live in love and accept the truth of who He is today. Determine to never turn away, and ask Him to lead you along the way of truth. Walk in His love and His truth and you will find life eternally through Him.