“I am the Way…”
Jesus
said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me.”
John 14:6
Years ago, before I read the verse at the beginning of this
post, I didn't know how to respond to people who made statements like this:
“It doesn't matter
what you believe, or who you believe in—as long as you BELIEVE, you will go to
heaven. And even if you don’t really believe, if you live a good life God will
love you and take you to heaven.”
But if you believe in the Bible it’s very clear; to have eternal life with God, one must
believe in Jesus, God’s Son, who came to earth to die for us and forgive us of
all of our sins, and then, on the first Easter, rose from the dead.
It doesn’t matter how strongly anyone believes in any other god or any other being.
It doesn’t matter how many times a person goes to church, or how many “good”
things he or she does, or how much money is given to charity, or how many
prayers are said, or …well, or anything else. All that matters is believing the
truth—that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
To be clear, God does love
us, even if we do not love or believe in Him. But we will not spend eternity
with Him unless we do believe in Him. This is not exclusive, but rather inclusive;
inclusive of absolutely everyone who believes. It does not depend on a certain amount of money in the checking account, a high-status the job, “enough” friends, how
good looking, how many “good” things done.
Our salvation is through grace—God’s undeserved love for us.
We could never do enough to “deserve” it; all we have to do—all we can do—is accept
it. We are blessed!
Peter
said, of Jesus, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other
name
under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12
If you hear one of the
statements at the beginning of this post, gently and kindly point out these
verses that show the true—the only!--way to heaven.
(I’m also blogging
the A to Z Challenge at Home is Where the Mom Is.
Today’s post is based on Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things…”)
