photo credit:(c) Melissa Childress text: (c) dawn boyer
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me. – John 14:6
This is one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible. The power and the finite reality of an infinite promise redounds with hope and grace. The Bible is the plumb line we adhere to. And still, somehow we choose to seek our answers elsewhere when troubles arise. We question if we have heard God correctly, we doubt that He hears us, we waver with the blowing winds.
Our world is exploding with news stories and broken realities that point out the result of lives exposed evil. We choose to embrace the errancy of truth, the indecency of abuse, and indelicacy towards the innocent because we have the right to choice. We allow it to pervade our computer screens, our TVs, and our devices as if we can’t . seem. to. break. away.
And we wonder why our children don’t embrace our faith. We question why they walk away from truth.
What is it we are truly teaching them? That complacency is accepted, as long as we wear masks of pretense.
I come back to this scripture often, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life and I contemplate what it means. I consider the freedom we are meant to discover in the tenets of faith’s halls of hope. I ponder the power of fully living versus the living fully, one dominated by truth and the other by a fallacy. I pray that I can find this narrow path and walk it slow; patient enough to look deep and seek diligently for the open door that is hidden behind the simple faith that is hinged upon this very scripture.
We are called to something more, friends. Something deep and pure, and it is not for the faint of heart. People are dying for this faith that we wear easy. It isn’t meant to look like the American Dream, it is meant to be separate and set apart.
I talk about this with my children and my students each week as we sit around a table and we talk about vain philosophy and man-made ideology. We discuss the influence that man’s version of truth without a compass invokes… and we see the result of how it has played out in history. Every. Single. Time.
History it repeats itself, and sometimes we are slow learners on this journey around the sun. Or perhaps, we are choosing to spend time pleasing self rather than seeking to serve the One who shows us the true path to freedom, and so we delude ourselves into thinking that certain things are ok and we can excuse the inexcusable because we are imperfect in our wanderings anyhow and we just don’t need to try.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught abounding in thanskgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled with Him, who is the head of all rule and authority. -Colossians 2:6-10
When we choose our way, over His we are building empty houses upon the sand of destruction that will sway with the world in the winds that will always blow strong in the storm.
The opportunity to reminisce, to ponder, to discover, to talk about what we think, how we feel, what we believe is prevalent in our society of social ramblings. All too often, however, we let our hearts come to conclusions that have no basis other than our perception, our feelings, or our experience. This faulty reasoning is a fallacy we can not trust.
When reason tells us that experience is a great teacher; Wisdom tells us that our feelings are false indicators of reason.
When the world tells us that there are no absolutes; the WORD tells us that there is but one way, One Truth, one Life to live by.
There is surely one Absolute. It is the source of all life, all grace, all peace, all mercy. It is the WAY; and there is no other that guarantees the outcome of hope and life. It is ok to question, but don’t hinge your premise on the wisdom of the world. Follow the way of life that leads to the Truth and you will fully know the power of freedom. Your lives will be fully lived rather than lived full of things that keep your heart secluded from the Father’s leading.
The days we have before us fill our hearts with questions. They lead us to mourn the depravity of man and the broken nature of our world. I watch my children as I think of the world they will inherit, the dangers they will face as they go into all the world. Rather than contemplating the temporal, will you join me in praying for the eternal to be manifest in the lives of each and every believer?
As I pause here in John 14, I find a nugget further down that answers this very plea.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. – John 14:27
Truth is…
Can I challenge you today to pause and ponder this verse about Truth? Truth is not subjective, it is not based on perspective or our ability to rationalize what we ‘think’ we know. Truth is a person… it is Jesus and everything else is subject to Him, therefore it is fully objective to reason. Feelings are not trustworthy guides, but the Word of God is and it will stand forever.
Prayer Changes lives…
I read this comment today on a post regarding the loss of 21 men from Egypt. “Do I ever pray for the Persecuted Church enough? Lord forgive me!”, and I stopped to bow. Friends… I long to write words of encouragement here… to lead you and lift your hearts. But today, mine feels low, not because my faith is weak or I am depressed, but because I let myself look at all that is wrong instead of what is right… I failed to stop and pray as I ought. To bend low and allow the Truth, the Way and the Life permeate all I am to intercede for those in harm’s way. To let the fullness of Grace fill my heart so the life will touch heaven and bleed deep into our earthly moments.
He is the Only Way, the Absolute Truth, and the Fullness of Life.
People are dying because they believe this. They are paying the ultimate price, and if all my day is spent in consistent prayer, as 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells me to be, then even in these moments of fear and frustration I can see the power of hope and the message of mercy with grace’s pen.
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. – John 14:6
…it is all we have to hinge our hope upon.
Praying for the mercy of God upon our souls tonight, as we seek Him in Truth.
How can I pray for you this week?
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Linking up with seekers of mercy :
SDG Gathering, Make A Difference Mondays, Playdates with God, Angie Ryg, Unite, #TellHisStory, #RaRaLinkup, Testimony Tuesday, Coffee For Your Heart, Mom’s Morning Coffee, Wednedsay Prayer Girls , Front Porch Inspired, Thriving Thursdays, Live Free Thursday, Fellowship Friday, Missional Women, Counting My Blessings, Faith and Fellowship Blog Hop,
I am just so grateful for your words today, Dawn. I want to say more but today really what I need to do is reread and let the truth of what you’ve shared sink in deep. “There is surely one Absolute. It is the source of all life, all grace, all peace, all mercy. It is the WAY; and there is no other that guarantees the outcome of hope and life.”
Love you, friend.
xoxo
Wonderful post – thank you for sharing this and it has brought conviction to me. Keep writing for His glory and sharing this truth with all people. Linking up from #RaRalinkup! God bless 🙂
I loved these words and truths Dawn! I especially was struck by two things. One is that many times we choose complacency as acceptable, as long as we wear masks of pretense. So easy to do and I know that I am guilty of this myself. The other thing that stands out is the verse from John 14:27. God’s peace is not the same as the world’s but it is most definitely better.
Praying for all today that we move past complacency and embrace the light of Jesus and share it brightly with all.
“People are dying for this faith that we wear easy.” Yes, we wear it far too easily, Dawn. We must be ready to stand firm and know our God. I have been thinking and praying about the Christians killed recently in Libya and their families left to question so much. I have no business thinking that my life should be smooth-sailing for I could be in Libya or anywhere else where hatred is seething like a boil. Hatred lives in this United States as well…lynchings, antisemitism, racial fights and profiling, etc. We must stand strong in our Lord. Love one another for He loved us first. Obey God’s commandments and love one another. The Bible is filled with God’s love. Oh, that we would live and love His way.
Visiting form Anita’s.
Caring through Christ, ~ linda
Dawn, this really encourages me as I have been quite unsettled by news reports of ISIS. I’m going to cling to that “I am the way, the truth, and the life” verse more than ever. So true that we have to set our sights on Jesus.
Beautiful truths you shared here. People are dying and I would say it is taken for granted – our faith. I don’t take it for granted one single moment. We are so blessed, and yes our children and grandchildren. Doing all I can to leave legacies for these new grandchildren in my life. Thanks for sharing a beautiful, beautiful post.
“Truth is a person.” Amen. And we should constantly strive to get to know that person so that we can confront the lies that surround us.
Dawn, thank you for this post and your honest words regarding complacency and mediocrity in faith. We discover Jesus when we discover he is the only way, the only truth and the only life. I cheer you from the #RaRalinkup on Purposeful Faith.
It is so easy for me to get caught up in my life and the needs of those around me. It is not often that I look up and see the world-at-large and all her needs. Something I started doing a while ago, but have gotten away from, is praying as I read the paper. I’m going to re-start this tomorrow.
John 14:6…such a short verse but packed with so much promise! It’s an easy one to remember…one we can recite quickly when we feel ourselves starting to choose our own path over His path. Great thoughts here, Dawn!
Thank you so much for this. I needed to read this and let it sink in. Lord, keep us to your path and not swaying. Mich x
What a beautiful post and encouragement to meditate on John 14 this weekend. Have a great one, Kim Stewart
#equippinggodlywomen
That is definitely a verse we need to come back to time and time again!
Powerful! This has always been a special verse to me 🙂
I have been struggling with this same concept – a blog post I can’t quite get written. You said it here: “People are dying for this faith that we wear easy. It isn’t meant to look like the American Dream, it is meant to be separate and set apart.”
It’s something about our identity – an identity I wonder if I even recognize at all?
Thank you for this, Dawn… It’s given me more to ponder. So many rich words here.
Anne