Jesus is the Way

All this month on the blog, we are examining the names of Jesus, and this month we start with “the Way.”

When my daughters were old enough to hold the chunky shapes in their chubby fists, the shape sorter toy came out of the toy bin and we’d play with it together. To get the square into the bucket, we’d carefully turn the shape in just the right way so that it would fit through the corresponding square-shaped hole. The star went through the star-shaped hole; the circle went through the circle-shaped hole, and so on. As my toddler daughters tried to put a star into the square, they found that it didn’t work. It wasn’t the right way to play with this toy.

We live in an age where many ways seem right— a “you do it your way, I’ll do it mine” mentality. And while that might be ok (even healthy) in some scenarios, there is one area where this way of thinking just doesn’t work.

There is a way, and His name is Jesus. Let’s look at John 14:6 and talk about it a bit together.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

In this short verse, Jesus is making a very big claim. He is saying that there is only one way to get to God, and He is it!

But what does that really mean?

Please forgive my imperfect analogy, but it’s a little like my shape sorter. There is only one right shape that can fit through its matching hole. When the shape and hole don’t match, the toy doesn’t work. (I know, I know– technically, it won’t work if you try to put the correct piece in sideways or off-center and so forth, but we’ll ignore that. Let’s just focus on needing the right piece.)

In our case, there is only one right “hole” to get to God. It’s a Jesus-shaped hole. So, we must be shaped like Him in order to pass through. How can this happen? Well, since Jesus is the Way, we must come to Jesus in saving faith. Then we get the Holy Spirit. The Spirit in us (“Jesus in our hearts”) matches the Jesus-shaped hole, so we can then go right on through to the Father’s presence.

It’s so simple!

And yet, it’s beautifully rich. God loves us so much that He sent His only Son (John 3:16) to save us from our sins. (Matthew 1:21, John 10:9) All we must do is confess His Lordship and believe in Him. (Romans 10:9) He then washes us clean (1 John 1:7, Hebrews 10:10). That’s all it takes to get the Jesus-shape in order to “fit into the hole” (have access to God). Then we can have a relationship with God the Father. And with that relationship comes eternal salvation! But not only that– there is also fruit of the Spirit, companionship with God and others, grace, peace, guidance, strength, and more.

This Way is a Relief

Toddlers often struggle when they play with a shape sorter by themselves. Getting the right shape and then fitting it in correctly can be a struggle. This reminds me a little of how it looks when we humans try to save ourselves on our own power.

We can look at the world around us to see how humans have tried either to get to God apart from Christ or tried to work their own salvation.

Money, power, fame, security, and health aren’t evil, but if we are relying on them to be our salvation they will fail us every time. If we put them before God, they become our idols. We’ll never be satisfied and we’ll never feel secure enough. There’s always something to work toward and the bar usually winds up raising just a little higher. (After all, for just one example, how much money is really enough?) These things just aren’t the Way.

There is great relief in trusting Jesus! Rather than struggling to make our own way, like struggling to fit a star into a square-shaped hole, we can rest in Jesus. He is the perfect sacrifice to open the door to God the Father. He has already done everything that needed to be done to fulfill God’s requirements. All we must do is come to Him in childlike faith, yoking ourselves to Him.

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30)

Praise God for sending His Son, Jesus, to be the Way! I pray we all rest in His easy yoke today.

In Christ, the very precious Way,
Ali