Week 5—Wednesday John 14:5-7
John 14:5-7
“I AM THE WAY, AND THE TRUTH”—RIGHT ORDER?
It is no mere chance that the order: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” is as it is—the Way first. Jesus had to be the Way before he was the Truth and the Life. If “the truth” had been put first, that would mean that we would have been sent on a quest for verbal truth; Christianity would have become a philosophical system or a theological system.
No, Jesus is the Way before he is the Truth. For truth has to be put under life to see if it is truth.
But note, Jesus did not say, “I am the answer,” as we often say in slogans: “Christ is the answer.” No, he is the Way to the answer. If a teacher would give the answer to pupils studying arithmetic, would that help? No, it would weaken. Instead of giving the answer, the teacher gives the way to find the answer. The pupils themselves can find the answer if they know the way. So Jesus does not give us ready-made answers. That would weaken us. Instead he gives us the Way—the Way to find all answers. Take his way, and the answers come out of the Way. Apply his method, his Spirit, his Way, to any situation and you’ve got the answer. So he doesn’t give answers, he gives the Way to answers.
And Jesus doesn’t give Truth—he gives the Way to find Truth. If you take his Way, you will find the Truth. The Truth isn’t something handed to you in a neat bundle tied in a blue ribbon. It is something discovered as you follow the Way. After I was converted I went to the public library and took out a book on the philosophy of religion—I thought this would explain what I had found. I didn’t know what it was talking about. I gave it up after some pages and handed it back. I learned that my feet were on the Way and, therefore, I would discover Truth as I followed the Way. So I’ve been discovering Truth as a Life process. Truth has been and still is an exciting discovery as I follow the Way. It unfolds.
O Lord and Savior, I follow your Way, and the Way leads me daily to unfolding Truth as I verify the Way day by day—the Way as Truth. This is an exciting quest, for I see, and the more I see, the more I see there is to be seen. Jesus, my Lord, you have put incitement and excitement in my life. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: I shall know as much as I am willing to practice and no more.