One Way

We recently took a road trip and when we finally got loaded up in the car we started to drive. The question was “which way,” though. We had plugged in the address of where we were headed and our phone suggested more than one way to go. We could go one way and avoid paying tolls. We could go another way, but it might have some dirt roads. We could go another way with bigger roads but it might have traffic. So many options that would get us all to the same place eventually.  Think about somewhere that you go to in the car a lot. Maybe school or to a friends house or to your practice field. Is there more than one way to drive there? Usually there is! Now, let’s think about heaven, where God lives forever. If being in heaven with God is where we want to eventually end up, is there more than one way to get there? That’s an interesting question! Listen to what the Bible says in John 14:5-6. This is when Jesus had been telling the disciples that He was going to die and then be raised from the dead to then go back to heaven. But, here’s the thing… the disciples didn’t really understand what He was saying though. So what should we do if we don’t understand something? Ask a question! And that’s just what one of Jesus’ disciples, Thomas, did in John 14. He says in verse 5 and 6 “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way? Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” To Thomas and the other disciples, Jesus’ answer was “clear as mud.” Have you ever heard that saying? Clear as mud? That means it’s not clear at all. Mud is not clear is it? So Jesus’ answer might have confused the disciples even more. But what Jesus is saying here is that there is only ONE way to God. One. Not zero ways, as if we can’t EVER reach Him. And not 2 or more ways, as if we should add anything to Jesus’ way. Only one way. And that one way is Jesus. In John 14:6 Jesus said that, “no one comes to the Father except through me.” He can say that because Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life. The ONLY way. This is an important truth in our world today. There are lots of different people who believe different things about who Jesus was and what the Bible commands us to do. A lot of times you will hear someone say that we can all go to heaven whether we believe in Jesus or not. Some people even believe in other gods or worship statues called idols. And some people might tell you that we actually do need to follow Jesus AND do other things in order for God to really love us or in order for us to go to heaven with Him one day. And it can be a number of OTHER things that they suggest. It’s like they are saying that there are many different ways to get to God, like different routes we could have taken on our road trip that would get us to the same place in the end.  But this is not what the Bible, God’s true word tells us. Jesus’ teaching tells us that there’s only ONE way. And that’s to follow Him. Pretty simple! We don’t need to add any more to that. THE way is Jesus.  Here are some questions to talk about. You can pause after each question and discuss. Oh, and there’s not wrong answer to these. So don’t overthink it! 1.     What is the one way to God? 2.     What did Jesus mean when He said He is the way, the truth, and the life? 3.     How does this change the way we live? One last time before we sign off, let’s practice our verse together. You can repeat after me. “I am the way - and the truth - and the life. - No one comes to the Father - except through me.” John14:6 Hey parents, don’t forget to click the subscribe or follow button to get reminders when new episodes are available each week!  * Music: "Forest" by Vlad GluschenkoSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com