I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life

BY Kaitlin Wernet

“What are you looking for?” seems like a harmless question when you’re, say, on all fours looking for the back of an earring in a crowded elevator. Or maybe when your bike has been stolen and you’re filling out a police report detailing its exact size, color, and last known location.

But when it comes to something you’ve never had before, like a dream job or a new friend, it can be hard to articulate exactly what you’re hoping to find. What I know for sure is that every time I sit across from an attractive, intelligent man on a first date, I dread them asking, “So… what are you looking for?” What I’ve figured out is that the question beneath the question is actually, “Is it me?” And no… it’s not terrifying or too soon to be asking that question on a first date—nope, not all.

What I find interesting, though, is that this question, this posture of seeking, is ingrained in us. Ever since the fall, humanity has found itself lacking, and thus, we have found ourselves searching for who knows what: Chocolate. Caffeine. Ibuprofen. Adventure. Love. Fulfillment. Belonging. Healing. Our need is not a surprise to us.

I don’t think that any of God’s children would have been able to specifically ask for who we need as a Savior. Sure, we would’ve been able to come up with characteristics, such as someone who is “forgiving” or “loving” or even someone who is “just” in the way they interact with the world and others. But our minds are unable to understand just how great our need is, let alone the compassion and longing God has for us. He had more in store for us than just fulfilling our needs—He wanted to do so in a way that would teach us about His character, draw us to His love, and keep us in His embrace forever.

As His disciples encountered Jesus while feeling their own human needs, they probably had a lot of questions come to mind:

Which way is right?
What can I believe to be absolutely true?
How can I find real life in a fallen world?

Jesus answers our fears with this calming reassurance in the beginning of John 14: “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” (v.1). He is capable of showing us the way, revealing to us the truth, and giving us life abundantly—and that would have been enough, more than we deserve. But He still wants more for us. He wants us to know Him in relationship.

I love what Charles Spurgeon has to say about the way Jesus talks to His disciples here: “Thus we notice how they speak to him with a natural, easy familiarity; and he talks to them in full sympathy with their weakness, teaching them little by little as they are able to learn. They ask just such questions as a boy might ask of his father. Often they show their ignorance, but never do they seem timid in his presence, or ashamed to let him see how shallow and hard of understanding they are.”

Jesus knows what we are searching for, even when we don’t have a clue. When we ask, “Where is the path? What is true? How can I find life?”, He will always answer, “It is me.” He alone is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).