Do you have the ultimate hope and assurance that you are not made for this world, that your true home is heaven? How do you feel about this?
Read the passage and do not read into it what you want; rather just read it. Now look what is going on. First off the point of this passage is simple, it is as what it says, Jesus is the Only Way!”
The context is that Jesus is facing betrayal. He warns them not only of His impending death, but also of the trials they will face in building the Kingdom. He shows us that He is the way, the role of the Holy Spirit, the importance of our connectivity to Him to produce faith and fruit, and that even in persecution, we will always be comforted as we remain in Him He turns to His Disciples to comfort them and says; do not be afraid or troubled! Trust in God; trust in Me. He then gives them a picture of hope by showing them a glimpse of what Heaven will be like (John 14:1-16:33)..
A paraphrase, In Heaven there will be many rooms in My Father’s Home, one made up especially for each of you! I will prepare it personally and at the right time, I will come and get you and you will always be with Me. You will know all about it and how to get there. But, Thomas jumps in and says no Lord; we do not know how or where to go! Jesus comforts him with this startling revelation,
I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life! No one can come to the Father except through Me!
Jesus wants to get our attention of what is important, to not be afraid. “Do not fear!” This was often a response of an Angel to those who were awe struck and also one that God gave His Prophets when they were in dire times.
He tells us to not let our Hearts be troubled. The significance of this is to not fear or fret, but have a transcending peace and contentment even when the situation does not offer or give it. This is a depiction of the supreme comfort that we get from our Lord in a world filled with sin-bad choices surrounded by treachery, deceit, failures, and sacrifice.
And the primary point of all this that is often missed? To Trust as in to believe in God. This is a call to a personal relationship-unity with conviction with Christ, and it is a command to step up to faith, our response to the call of God with trust in Him through times of danger and fear. This is a depiction of a righteous person’s proper dependence upon Jesus as He is exemplified.
Jesus is our Sanctuary; He is the Eternal God on whom we can rely and not only give our life to, but also live our life for (2 Sam. 2:3; Isa. 8:17; 28:16; Psalm 118:22; Isa. 8:14-18; 28:16; John 13:36; Heb. 2:13)
What do you lack to have more wholehearted commitment to faith? What gets in your way of follow-through and obedience?