The Baby in the Manger #5: the Way

The Way (grk: hodos)

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.’

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.

John 14:1-6

Are you home?  Have you reached your destination?  Home may conjure up many images: if these are positive, the may very well include family, belonging and safety.   Sadly, home is not this to many people.  But in our passage today, Jesus describes our ultimate home - his Father's house, with many rooms, where he has gone ahead to prepare a place for us.  I don't know about you, but the first image that pops into my head is the most comfortable bed ever in this big heavenly house.  However, I think it's fair to say that this is more than that: Jesus has prepared a place for us in God's family - a place we belong and are truly safe.

Having ascertained our destination, however, the question arises of how to get there.  Many have repeated Thomas's question over the years - 'which way do we go and how to we get there?'   Do we need to do something to earn our place?  Do we need to follow the right religious ceremonies?  Jesus answers Thomas and us:

I am the way.

The 'way' is a word with a couple of layers of meaning.  The first is the literal one - the path or road we take.  The second is the more metaphorical - it is the manner of travel: a way of life or course of conduct.  Taken together, these both give us a picture of the Christian life where Jesus is the way.  He is the direction we must take - looking to him, trusting in him, confessing our sin and brokenness to him and trusting that he has dealt with it on the cross.  He is also the manner we must follow.  His life was one obedience to the Father, and complete belonging and trust in Him.   The Apostle Paul writes:

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:6).

'The Way' of life is to cry 'Abba Father' - it is to say: I can't do this, but you can.  It is to say: I want to be part of your family and not go my own way.  

Finally, our place in the Father's household starts here.  The Christian life is one of 'now and not yet'.  Jesus speaks partly of the end future, in Heaven, but he also speaks of a nearer future - one that has already come to believers.  If we have trusted in Jesus then we are already part of God's family.  We are still travelling to the house, but we already belong.  We already have that new identity, and it is there for us to 'put on' each day.