As Christ’s disciples, we need to show world
that Jesus is the way, truth, life

Thomas said to [Jesus], “Lord, we don’t know where you are going; so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14: 5-6
As Christians in the McAllen District, we are called to follow Jesus. You have heard me emphasize that very point in my speaking at your Charge Conferences.
I have urged that in this district we will follow Jesus as we welcome others and as we transform our church and community. I believe that following Jesus comes before anything else.
Yet, we, like the earliest disciples, want often to know where our following will lead.
“What will be the outcome of our obedience?” we ask. “Where can we expect to end up? Will we succeed in achieving what we desire?”
We, too, are concerned about the results of our journeying with Jesus.
You will notice above that Thomas, like us at times, believed that he needed to know where he was going to end up to know what road to take. But Jesus’ response to Thomas (in Verse 6 above) moves beyond the results of the journey with Jesus and focuses on the relationship with Jesus. For Jesus declares, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” In other words, Jesus says, “I am the road, the solid ground, the zestful energy for this trip to God. One goes to God when he or she loves my way, trusts my truth, receives and gives away my life.”
We often see biblical interpreters use this verse to make a point about the centrality of Jesus for salvation. I am Christo-centric in my own understanding of Jesus’ role in salvation, but I want us Christians to recognize that in this passage Jesus was addressing his first disciples, later to be called Christians. He was not addressing other religious groups. So, I believe Jesus’ emphasis is that the folks who first need to know—and show—that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life are us, his disciples. We are the ones who need to love the way Jesus loved—even our enemies, even when we have been hurt.
We are the ones who need to trust the truth that Jesus revealed: namely, it’s our dependence upon God, not our infatuation with our own goodness, that gets us down the road with God.
We are the ones who need to connect ourselves and others to the joyful life that Jesus offers instead of accepting the status quo that often disconnects real life from the dying.
In this district we do not always know what the outcome of our following Jesus will be. We do not know with certainty if our congregations will grow or decline.
But we can believe that in following Jesus through his way of loving, through his way of trusting, through his way of living that we will not have to wait until the end of our journey to receive God’s blessing. We will be in Christ’s presence each day. And that is blessing enough for now.