Within the past few months, Pope Francis of the Catholic Church said that “All religions are paths to God.” Before reading any further, I want you to stop and think about what this man just said. All religions are paths to God, is this true? What did Jesus say?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Do we truly understand and grasp what this means? This idea that Jesus is the way. In several places in Acts, we have this idea of “the Way” being described. This is more than just a title. This was clearly a way of life for those who come to Jesus in humble, submissive obedience. They all would begin to live completely different lives because of Jesus.
Jesus says that He is the way to the Father. This was because of His relationship and ultimately, our relationship through Jesus. When we say that Jesus is the only way, we need to mean it. This is not always well received by others, obviously by the Pope as well. Jesus never started denominations and yet look at the “Christian” idea for religion. The leader of the largest denomination is now saying that Jesus is no longer the way to the Father. How can this be?
Here is what we need to remember. When we obey the gospel, we are added to the Lord’s body. This is His church and not the church of our choice. When we begin to sidetrack and go on our own way thinking that we can be pleasing to Him outside of the same body of fellow faithful believers, we are not being part of “the Way.”
The final thing for us to remember is that being part of His church is not popular. It is not “cool”. You will never find this to be the practice of the majority. The way of Jesus is the way of submission and suffering. While many may find themselves willing to submit in some instances, the suffering aspect is where many draw the line. We must live in His way.
by Lee Elkins