Devotional

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)

I have done a fair amount of traveling in my life and feel fairly seasoned in my approach to navigating my way around. There is always the guarantee that at some point, I will find myself lost along the way. The one rule of thumb I have learned is: Keep calm, you’ll find your way…eventually.

We are lost without God. We cannot find him on our own.

Getting lost is part of the journey, they say, but what if you are utterly and totally lost? Not just in your travels, but in life itself? As we search for answers, we often find ourselves more lost than we first thought. The solutions that we come up with show us how desperate we truly are. We are lost without God. We cannot find him on our own.

Instead, we often conjure up our paths of moral goodness. Maybe, if we make enough correct turns, we will find our way. We try to appeal to God through our good performance and being a good person—don’t lie, cheat, or steal. Perhaps, if he could just see our good intentions, that would out shine all of our bad deeds.

Jesus says to us, “I am the way… No one comes to the Father except through me”

Jesus says to us, “I am the way… No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He hints at the idea that what we are looking for is right in front of us. He gives us the good news that through him, we can be accepted by the Father. Through Jesus. Not around him, nor beside him, but through him!

...all we need is to put our faith in Jesus alone.

Jesus doesn’t offer himself as one of many options. He offers himself as the only one who can bring us to God. He is the only one who can save us from our lost estate. The cross is the signpost showing us that Jesus is the only path. We are utterly lost in this life. We roam the dark streets of our hearts looking for solutions and answers to our problems when all we need is to put our faith in Jesus alone.

Christ alone is the only way to know God. He asks us to put our faith and trust in him. Only He can free us from our sin and give us ultimate direction, never to be lost again.

Liturgy

Father,

Your son says, “I am the way… No one comes to the Father except through me.”
We read the words and forget.
Weak and easily distracted, we ignore truth
and discredit judgement to be of the world.

Yet knowing we are unworthy,
you sent your son, a humble baby 
born among strangers, to save us.

When this world, once beautiful,
is filled with destruction;
when anger takes the place of learning;
when your creation is questioned,
or cast aside and forgotten;
Remind us of the cost.

With grace your son suffered greatly 
until his last breath on the cross
so we would know truth
and have everlasting life with you.

With hearts laid bare,
let us feel the weight of your sacrifice.
Let us know the fullness of your love.
Let us strive to honor your name.

This we pray, Amen.