Jesus said He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. That no man or woman can come to the father unless it is through him. Therefore, Jesus is the only way for true salvation to God the Father. As you read the story about the woman at the well with Jesus - a divine appointment found in John 4, we see that Jesus is leading her to the truth and that The Truth will set her free. Notice that she doesn’t experience true freedom from her past and present sins. When she finally tells Jesus the whole truth and nothing but the truth, Jesus (The Truth) sets her free. When we study scripture, we have to make sure that we understand the true exegesis of the text, that is, the most accurate interpretation of a passage, achieved by carefully analyzing the text within its historical and literary context, aiming to understand the original intended meaning by the author, rather than imposing personal interpretations or biases on the text. The other important point of the exegesis is to understand the setting of the text, that is, is it for that historical moment or is it intended for the universal body of believers? In this case, it is both. Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman, a jew, who is talking to a Samaritan at a public well - unheard of! Yet, Jesus engages us right where we are at. He doesn’t say to the woman or us, get yourself and your life cleaned up and when you look better and feel better and are better then I will save you, no, he meets her (and us) right where we are and offers us the spring of water welling up to eternal life - Jesus is the Way! Jesus tells the woman that Salvation is from the Jews, yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in Spirit and in truth.” John 4:24.
Let’s look at Jesus’ testimony about himself:
John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 8:31b-32, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
What more do we need as brothers and sisters in Christ, but to hear from the whole Truth, the only Way and the Life that sets us free - Jesus is the only way.
He asks each of us to tell him the truth, wherever we are at in our lives. Whether we are in the thick of it (heaped in sin and shame and fear and guilt) or whether we are in a desert place (exhausted and tired and desperate) or whether we are climbing closer to Him - we all need to be honest and truthful with the Great I Am - the one who will set us free.
Discipleship is not a program. It is not a subscription-based method that I have to pay thousands of dollars to get the secret sauce and be in a relationship with the Holy of Holies. Discipleship is a relationship. For me to be serious about God’s truth in my life, then we have to begin by telling God the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Once we take that step, he meets us at that very place and offers us complete freedom to be his adopted sons and daughters.
Let me ask you this, what is holding you back? The unholy trinity of fear, shame, and guilt? Why? God has plans for every one of us. Plans not to harm us. Plans to give us the abundant life that scripture promises us. Are you willing to be set completely free? Tell God the truth today!