Meditations from Zion

John 14:6, 8a
“…You know the way to the place where I am going…. I am the way and the truth and the life…”

For many years, whenever I thought of Jesus as the way, I always assumed it meant “accepting Jesus as Lord of my life.” I thought of Jesus leading the way, beckoning me to follow Him along a very narrow path. He was, then, more of a guide, than anything else. He was the leader.

And I think He is all of these things. But I think there is more. The way of Jesus is a process. We are not just to follow Jesus but to be like Jesus. We are to interact with the world the way he interacted. We are to see, feel, and touch others, the way He did. It’s the same kind of understanding that Paul had as he wrote in Philippians 1:21, “…to live is Christ…” The way of Jesus is a lifestyle.

But the challenge today is that so many people, particularly Christians, have already determined what the “Jesus lifestyle” is, often due to many long held traditions as well interpretations of the scriptures themselves. Every denomination is a description of the way of Jesus. Every Christian book is a description of the way of Jesus.

Woe to the young believer who is trying to find his/her way.

And yet, Jesus told the disciples that they knew the way. They did not and would not necessarily know the destination. They had to trust that Jesus would have that part covered. They just had to operate in the way. This is a paradox for western culture. We are told over and over and over again that we must have a goal, a vision, a result. How else will we know we have achieved or arrived?

But apparently, this is not the way of Jesus. Every day, every moment that we are in the way of Jesus, we have arrived at our destination. It’s now. We can choose today to act, to react, to speak, to touch, to love, to accept, to bless… and we are in the way of Jesus. The way is moment by moment, hour by hour, and day by day. Today, we can know the way and live it.