Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. 

In Acts 24, Paul describes himself as being a follower of “the Way.”  This is how early Christians were known. 

Jesus describes himself as the way.  He is the way to the Father.  No one comes to the Father except through him.  He is the truth because he is divine.  He is God the Son, begotten by the Father but equal to the Father.  He is the life because his sacrifice redeemed us.  His Resurrection conquered death and opened eternal life for us. 

If we follow the way, we continue to strive to improve.  We allow Jesus Christ to permeate every aspect of our lives.  We seek him in prayer.  We ask the Holy Spirit to help us to live as he showed us.  His whole earthly life shows us the perfection of human life in this world.  We want to live as he lived.

Knowing that he is the truth, we can trust in all that he tells us.  There is no falsehood.  He is not even capable of it because it would be contrary to his nature.   His promises are always kept. 

If we trust in him, we live the life that leads to eternity with the Father.  And with the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus, as God, participated in creation.  He is the Word spoken by the Father that, through the work of the Spirit, gives us our very existence.  As God, he is the source of our existence.  As God the Son, he took on a mission to give us the possibility of eternal life.  In showing us himself, he shows us the Father.  As Saint Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is a living man.”  This man, this Jesus in human form, is the glory of God presented to us.  And, as fully human, he shows us the perfect example of this life on earth.

It is possible to live this life as if God does not exist.  We can make that choice.  That is not what God wants for us.  It is not what is best for us.  But, if we choose not just to believe in God, but to live life in imitation of Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we become much more.  We become what we were meant to be.