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 ESV
We read in John 10 that Jesus is The Door into God’s
sheepfold, into fellowship with Almighty God. A door is an entry or an access.
Only through that door can we come to God the Father. Jesus is also The Way,
the route, the direction that we must travel to enter into God’s eternal
kingdom, too, and his way is narrow, and it is restricted, and few enter
(travel it).
Jesus is also The Truth, the only truth. All religions do
not worship the same God. All religions do not lead to heaven. Even the Jews,
who do not believe in Jesus Christ, do not worship the God of their ancestors –
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Because God is Father, Son (Jesus Christ),
and Holy Spirit, those who do not believe in Jesus do not worship the One True
God. So, non-believing Jews do not worship the God of Christians.
Jesus is The Life. We have life in no other. Not only is he
our creator God who gave us the breath of life at our physical births, but he
is the giver of eternal life with God, by God’s grace, through God-given and
divinely persuaded faith in Jesus Christ.
And, those with this kind of faith submit to Christ as Lord.
They leave behind them their old sinful lifestyles, and they turn to God to
follow him in obedience to his ways (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17;
Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15).
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.” John 14:15, 21, 23-24 ESV
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believes (is believing) in him shall not perish, but shall have
eternal life with God (John 3:16).
So, in one sense, God loves everyone. Yet, there is a
special love he has for those who are truly his by faith in Jesus Christ. It is
an intimate love. It is a relational love. It is like the love of a mother for
her child, or the love of a woman for her husband, or a husband for his wife or
for his child. I can love all people with God’s love, and I can love other
people’s children, but it isn’t the same as the love I have for my own
children, or for my own husband.
So, what does that faith look like that brings us into
relationship with Jesus Christ? It obeys (walks in obedience to) his
commandments. It puts the Word of God into practice in our daily lives. And,
the Word of God teaches us that we must die with Christ to sin and live with
him to righteousness if we want to have eternal life with God.
So, when we are believing in Jesus Christ with this
God-given and divinely persuaded faith which submits to Christ as Lord, and
which forsakes our lives of sin to follow him in obedience, then we are saved
from our slavery to sin, from the punishment of sin, and we have eternal life
with God.
But, that is not all! We have a special intimate
relationship with Almighty God. And, so we desire him above all else, and we
want to spend time with him, and we desire his Word and we want to obey what he
says because we love him. And, he becomes our best friend and our closest
companion.
God’s Love for Us
And, this kind of love that God/Jesus has for us who are
truly his by faith in him will manifest itself in many ways. He comforts us
when we are sorrowful. He encourages us when we are down. He strengthens us
when we are weak. He will never leave us or forsake us. He won’t abandon us
like humans do. He will always be there for us. And, we can sense his love.
And, when he forgives us, then he changes us, and then he
uses us for his glory. He calls us to specific areas of ministry, and he gifts
us with spiritual gifts. And, he counsels and guides us in the way that we
should go. And, he empowers us to live righteously and to do his will and to do
his work which he prepared in advance that we should do.
When we face life’s difficulties which test our faith, he
provides all that we need to survive the test and to come out victorious over
our enemy. He hears our prayers, and he answers them. He doesn’t always give us
what we want, but he provides what we need. And, sometimes he says “Wait,” and he
says, “Trust me.” And, then we must wait and we must trust him.
He has also provided us with the body of Christ so that we
have a Christian family of brothers and sisters to minister to one another, and
to help one another to grow in our walks of faith. This doesn’t always work out
well, though. For, not everyone who calls himself a follower of Christ truly is
one. And, not everyone who is a Christian lives like they are followers of
Christ. And, so the body of Christ can sometimes be a source of much pain and
rejection for us, rather than being a place of healing and comfort.
But, when the body of Christ is working like it is supposed
to, and when we are working together in unity, and we are encouraging one
another in the faith, and we are praying for one another, then that is awesome!
That is such a wonderful blessing of God!
Yet, we can’t put our total dependency in humans, for they
may let us down. God still needs to be the one we go to, the one we depend on
to meet our needs. And, then when he supplies other Christians to encourage us,
we thank him and we praise him. He gets the glory. And, our dependency
continues to rest in him and not in humans who may fail us.
Intimacy with God
But, not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” has this
relationship with Jesus. Not everyone who professes his name truly knows him or
even begins to understand the intimacy we can have with Almighty God. The only
way any of us are going to have this kind of intimacy with God is via
submission to Christ truly as Lord, and via walking in obedience to his
commands day by day, and moment by moment.
And, just like any relationship, it takes time, and it takes
nurturing it, and working on it, and spending time with our Lord in fellowship
with him, and listening to him talk about what he wants to tell us, and what is
important to him. And, the more we spend time with him, listening to him and
obeying him, the more he will reveal of himself to us, and the deeper our
fellowship and our intimacy with him will be.
And, this is the kind of relationship he wants to have with
all of us who are his. But, so many people these days who profess his name have
little to do with him, and they are not walking in obedience to his commands,
but they are doing their own thing their way. And, they are satisfied with
that, and with continuing to live in sin, because they have been convinced that
nothing is required of them.
But, Jesus’ truth, and his way, and his life leads us to
repentance and to submission to Christ and to walks of obedience. And, it is
there that we truly get to know him and his love for us and to truly walk with
him in his love. And, it is there that he calls us, and equips us, and he
trains us and he uses us for his purposes and for his glory – all praise to his
holy name.
And, there is no better place to be ever than in Jesus’
arms, surrendered to him, and doing his will, his way, in his timing, and for
his glory.
You Loved Me
An Original Work / December 3, 2019
A song based off the poem by the same name
When I was lonely and afflicted,
You were there to pick me up.
You took me in Your arms,
And You held me tenderly.
Your love embraced me.
Your grace sustained me.
When my heart cried out to You
In my fear and my despair,
You never turned away,
But You let me know You loved me.
Your grace forgave me.
You did not shame me.
Then, when I answered the call,
“Here, Lord, send me.”
You sent me to where I must be.
Your mercy held me, did not fail me.
All this, You had planned, to use me.
And, when all trials and scorn
Came to test me.
You gave me all that I would need.
You strengthened me so I’d not fail You.
Your kindness blessed me, it touched me.
And, when I needed the church
To lift up me,
To hearten me so I’d not fail,
You blessed me with folks who would love me.
Their presence with me, Your praise hailed!
And, when I walked through the valley
Of the shadow of the death,
And tears flowed from my eyes,
Still Your kindness was there for me.
Your touch, it healed me.
For I believed You.
When now I think about the ways,
Of the many, many ways
That You in Your great love
Show me that You’ll always care for me,
My heart, it thanks You,
And gladness fills me, fills me.
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