Week 5—Friday John 4:13-15
John 4:13-15
THE GIFT CREATES INITIATIVE
We continue our meditation on, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” We saw yesterday that we discovered Truth as we followed the Way. You do not find Truth by meditation, but by dedication. You know as much of Truth as you are willing to practice—and no more. So Jesus presents himself, not first of all as the Truth, but as the Way. And when we take the Way, we find both the Truth and the Life. The only way to find Life is to live it.
I once talked to General Smuts, premier of South Africa and the author of “Holism.” He called my attention to something I’ve never forgotten. He said the word “belief” is literally “by-lief” or “by life.” Your belief is your life. And your life is your belief. You believe in a thing enough to act on it, to live it. So you are what you believe, and you believe what you are. Your deed is your creed. And your creed is your deed.
Jesus said: “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father” (Matt. 7:21). Not every one who says, “Lord, Lord”—the Word become word; “but he who does the will of my Father”—the Word became flesh. You find both the Truth and the Life through the Way.
It is true that Life is a gift—a gift of grace. But it is a gift like the priming of a pump. You pour in water that this poured-in water may be the means of discovering water and producing water from within. Jesus said: “The water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life”—the water that I shall give shall become a well springing up. The gift creates initiative, spontaneity. He gives you Life, and the Gift creates a thirst for Life and more Life. So you, from then on, find Life by drawing upon it and by living it out. All our questions about Truth and Life are solved by the quest for Truth—Life. As we live it out, all our questions marks become exclamation points. “It works, it works,” we cry with verified joy.
O Jesus, you are verified Truth. We find you not at the end of a syllogism, but in the process of following the Way. We find Truth not by taking wings of imagination and soaring, but by putting on shoes and walking the Way. And this Way shines more and more to the perfect day. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: I am not dissatisfied, but forever unsatisfied.