With every new year, the College chooses a different verse of scripture to focus on. The verse for 2022 comes from the Gospel of John.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
This verse is spoken while Jesus is gathered in the upper room taking part in the last supper. He has just informed the disciples that he will be going away and although they can’t go with him there will come a day when they can. When Jesus makes this claim he isn’t saying I can show you the way, I will explain to you the truth, and I can give you life. What he is doing is making the profound statement that He IS the way, the truth, and the life. He is not one way, he is the only way that mankind is able to have a relationship with God.
THE WAY
Generally, when we ask someone for directions they point us in the right direction then send us on our way hoping we make it to our final destination. Not Jesus, he went ahead of us in order to prepare the way. By taking our sin upon himself when he died on the cross Jesus became THE WAY for us to reach the Father. When we make the life-changing decision to be a Jesus-follower, he lovingly walks alongside us and leads us into the presence of God.
THE TRUTH
Sometimes it can be hard for us to determine what is true in life. It is a great comfort to know that we can trust the words of Jesus. Not only does he explain the truth to us in scripture but we can know his words are trustworthy because he IS the source from whom all truth comes. In addition to scripture, he sent his spirit to help us when we are struggling to discern what truth is.
THE LIFE
In John’s Gospel, he goes out of his way to help us see that Jesus and the Father are one (Jn 10:30). Jesus is the giver of life, the one who breathed life into us when we were created and the one through whom we can receive eternal life. When Jesus took our punishment on the cross he restored our broken relationship with God making a way for us to come to the Father. We truly are a blessed people to have a creator who lovingly made us, then become flesh to pay the price for our wrongdoings. Jesus is the only way to God because he is truth, God the giver of life.
Donna Newell, College Pastor
