El Paseo - 7/29/06

John 14:4,6 "You know the way to the place I am going. ...I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me."

I like the layers of wisdom and direction found in this verse. Where was the place He was going? To His Father's house. The way in which He was to travel was through sacrifice - offering Himself up to pay for our sins. The place He was gong was also the Cross.

But, the way we know of to get to His final destination is to follow Him; His teachings, His way of living. The whole time Jesus was engated in ministry, He spent every waking minute telling people how to be reconciled with teh Father, and showing them the power of God through His actions.

That's another thing I like about this verse - "You know the way..."
In verse 6, Jesus says "I am the way..."

"You know The Way."

Jesus is the way, and I know Him personally. He is my God, but also my friend, my guide, my Father, my confidant - my everything. He is the way to that place where all hope is fulfilled. Permanent Peace. Permanent Love. Permanent understanding. Permanent life. That means no more separation through death either. Saying goodbye to people you love is hard, be it for a season while moving to another country or for a lifetime if death is the cause of that separation.

Thankfully, in Jesus no goodbye is permanent. Because through Him, everybody has been given direction to the same place; everybody has been shown the way to meet each other again. It may sting for the moment you experience the separation, but if those you love follow The Way, the Truth, and the Life, then we'll all arrive together in everlasting life.

I think a little bit of what I experienced today is a big part of the eternity experience. We had everybody over to say goodbye before moving to Belize, good friends and family. It ended with sad goodbyes - but I knew I'd see them again. And in the life everlasting, this day would not have ended. We would all continue to enjoy each other's company in the presence of our most powerful God who brought us all together in the first place, both in this world and again when we are all reunited in His kingdom.

Until then, everybody has been given their own map to follow leading to that moment.

Don't lose the Way, and I'll see you there.