You Know the Way
“…And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me…” John 14:4-6
Jesus assures the disciples that they know the way to glory. For, they know Him.
Thomas is concerned here that there is a pathway He doesn’t know about. His fear underlies a concern we can have: we do not know how to deliver ourselves to glory. How do we get there? This has to be one of the most fragile topics of Christian life. For, though we are saved from sin and eternal death, we do still die. We still experience the enemy of death on this planet—even those who are destined to be with Jesus forever. And, we who have lost a child know the sorrow of this enemy far too well. How can we be assured that we will be delivered to the right place? How can we know that our babies were delivered to home with Jesus?
Jesus is the way, He is the truth, and He is the life.
First, He is the way. There is hope in the presence of the Lord in our lives. We have escape from sin and from the anticipation of eternal damnation that the world is still subjected to. We have hope because we know that Jesus will take us to be home with Him always. He is the way that we walk; His is the pathway for our lives, and He is the entry into paradise.
Second, Jesus is the truth. There is no mere sentimentality with Jesus. We don’t say that we will go to heaven or that our babies go to heaven because we like the way it sounds. We say it because we believe that Scripture points to its truth.¹ Truth is a solid foundation for our lives, it is great grace to us to have so much truth at our disposal. We can look to the gospels and see the compassion of Jesus, the mercy of Jesus, the love of Jesus for His own—we can see how He heals, provides, and protects those with faith in Him. His love is true. We will go to be with the one who is the Truth—the true representation of God to us in all of His glory and perfection.
Third, Jesus is the life. We do not need to wonder at the nature of our life to come. Will it be good? Will it be full? Will it be joyful? Jesus is full of abundant life, and it is through Him our eternal life with come.
Death is an enemy we still grapple with on this earth—a defeated enemy, but one waiting to be thrown into the pits of hell once and for all. But, Jesus has given us recourse for how to think about our future. Our thoughts are to be entirely and fully Christocentric. He is the way to get to heaven. He is the true way to get to heaven. And, He is the living way to get to heaven. This should encourage us greatly. He is our salvation. He is our heavenly truth. And He is our eternal life.
We still sorrowfully experience the effects of death.
But that is not out of the sights of our precious Lord and Master. He has given us the comforts of Himself.
Take heart, dear friends, take heart. He has not left us without hope—without a pathway forward. Let eternal thoughts guide your hearts home to the knowledge of God in Jesus. He wants to be with you during this time, speaking words of eternal comfort to your souls. Will you allow Him a listen? Will you let him speak to you? His words are gentle and soft. He is mighty, but His tenderness is real. He is lulling you into His presence. He is the able Master, who has defeated your great foe of death. And, He wants to speak His eternal assurances to you.
Jesus is encouraging His disciples—and us—to get our thoughts in order about death. Jesus is the way through death. He is the true light of knowledge about what will take us from this life to the next. And He is the life we are hoping to have one day forever. It cannot go unsaid that death itself has been transformed for the believer. Death is entry into the holy and miraculous-for-us presence of God. One day, you will join your babe. Until then, let us regard death as defeated, eternity as secure, and grief to be taken one step at a time with the tender voice of Jesus guiding you home.
Take heart. You know the Way.
¹See: https://albertmohler.com/2009/07/16/the-salvation-of-the-little-ones-do-infants-who-die-go-to-heaven and https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/why-do-you-believe-that-infants-who-die-go-to-heaven
- Lianna
Hope Mom to Noelle
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