Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NIV)
The first time I ever truly heard those words was at the funeral of my best friend and golf partner’s husband. At fifty-four years of age John had come off the golf course eight weeks earlier not feeling well and within a week had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Needless to say, we were all in shock and disbelief and incredibly saddened.
Their youngest child, a three-time All-American golfer at Stanford University, was marrying their assistant pro in the spring. The doctors advised her dad that if he wanted to walk her down the aisle, they needed to move the wedding up.
You know that weddings are often booked a year out. And this was the Christmas season. There was no free date to be found at my friend’s church, so they looked at churches of other denominations. And one was found. The pastor of that church had the gifts of evangelism and grace.
All of John’s family came early to celebrate his last Christmas and attend the wedding. But he was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday of that week. Christmas was Friday, John died on Saturday, the wedding was on Sunday and the funeral was on Monday.
At the funeral, held at the family’s home church, the pastor who had opened his church to the family for the wedding had been asked to give the eulogy. The church was packed out with standing room only – John was well known in business and golfing circles. And the pastor proceeded to lay out the Gospel; Jesus lived, he died, and he rose again.
The Lord opened both my heart and my husband’s heart to the truth that day. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. We were good people, honest, giving, successful but we were far from the Father. The only time the name of Jesus was used in our home was as a curse word. I shudder now to think of that.
Our lives began to change. We went to church the next Sunday, the church of the pastor who gave the eulogy. It was a large church, but the pastor spotted us, even though we were hiding in the back row. He sought us out and proceeded to find individuals to disciple us one-on-one.
We both got into Bible study. My husband had some background, but I was completely Biblically illiterate. I was amazed at all the familiar phrases I discovered in the pages of Scripture. And I was learning who God/Jesus is, what he had done and what his promises are.
I learned that God does not send anyone to hell. As John 3:17,18 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”.
I marvel that I was condemned and didn’t even know it. I live among people who are condemned and don’t have a clue of their standing before God. Jesus came to save us from this. “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1 NIV)
I praise his most excellent name.
PRAYER -Lord God, please use me as your ambassador in my home, my business, on the golf course, and wherever you place me to give an answer for the hope that is within me.