(originally posted to Airdrie Ebenezer Evangelical Church 5th April 2020)
Spring has sprung! The clocks have moved forward. The sun is shining (a wee bit) but we’re all still stuck indoors, watching our screens and hearing the news of more people succumbing to disease and death. What do we have to say to a hurting world in days like these?
Jesus, as he prepared his followers for his own death, said:
John 14:1-4, 6b "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going."
6 …"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Firstly, we can say that there IS a way. There is a way for us to know God as our Father; to live in right relationship with him, and therefore to live free from fear. Jesus still says “Do not let your hearts be troubled” to his people. He is with us in the troubles of this life and our place is secure in that new world without sickness, separation or sorrow (Rev 21).
Secondly, we can say that this way is Jesus. We must be clear. Jesus does not say merely that he knows the way, but that he is the way. Jesus is not just a good teacher who offers good advice as to how we might try to please God. He is God the Son, sent to seek and to save that which was lost. Neither does Jesus say that he is a way, one among many. As is the case in all of the I AM statements, Jesus makes an exclusive claim- he is the only way; the only way to life in all of its fullness, the only way to life eternal.
Thirdly, we can say there is one we can trust absolutely, his Name is Jesus. I have read recently that there are people trying to take advantage of the vulnerable in the Corona-Crisis. Some of us have been let down or even betrayed by those we have trusted in the past- Jesus assures us that he is the very truth of God. It is impossible for him to lie, all of the glorious promises of God find their yes and amen in him.
That means we can trust him, allowing our hearts to be free from fear- and encourage others to do the same.
