How Do We Get There from Here?
In the gospel of John when Jesus tells the apostles that he is going away and that they know the way, Thomas asks “We don’t know where you are going, how can we know the way?”
Jesus was not speaking of a physical place. Jesus was talking about the end goal of life, the purpose of our earthly journey. And Jesus gives directions to the apostles that in life, He is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.
Jesus is the WAY.
- A relationship with Jesus, a close personal friendship with Jesus, is the way to find meaning and purpose in life. The way of Jesus is how we conduct our life. Every day we are faced with decisions on how to live, decisions that affect our life, and touch the lives of others.
- A disciple of Jesus is someone who follows His teachings grows in virtue and holiness which leads to union with God. But this holiness and union with God doesn’t start when we die, this is how we live now, and it is brought to completion in heaven.
Jesus is the LIFE.
- He is eternal life. But Jesus is also life itself, he is the source of our existence, the reason we are alive, and the purpose of our life.
- “Living for God in Christ Jesus” should be the focus of our lives. We should live for Jesus every moment of every day, because as Christians, His life is in us and He gives us life.
- Living with Jesus is living the Life of the Kingdom of God or living a life as God directs or following God’s will. It is living a life that gives God honor.
Jesus is the TRUTH.
- St Thomas Aquinas tells us, “Truth is the conformity of our minds with reality”. Reality, or things of the world, exists independently of our knowledge or opinion of it. When our idea of reality matches reality then we can be sure that we know the truth.
- The modern world will tell us “There are no facts, only interpretations”. Truth is a “social construct”; (an idea that has been created and accepted by society). Truth is relative. One person’s idea is as good as another’s.
- Living in truth requires people to perceive the world accurately and to know the truth.
- To know the truth, we need a guide. Jesus tells us, He is the Truth, a truth that is absolute and unchanging.
- When we seek Jesus and conform our lives to His holy Will, then we will find the meaning, happiness and fulfillment for which we were created.
- When we know the TRUTH, then we are free. Free from being trapped by our own subjective thoughts and desires. These subjective thoughts are based on our feelings and emotions.
- To know the truth, we need to learn what Jesus teaches, and build our lives on it. The more we know Jesus, the more we know the truth, because the truth isn’t just facts but a personal relationship with God.
If we live in a close relationship with Jesus (the way, the truth, and the life) then our hearts will not be troubled and can journey peacefully through this life to our dwelling place with the Father.
May Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, lead you to peace.
Deacon Michael Braun