At church Saturday night the pastor made a statement that I'd never really thought about before. He said, "There are many ways to get to Jesus but only one way to get to the Father!"
A simple statement, but so true. As Christians, we believe that faith in what Jesus did on the cross is the Only Way to be saved. While other religious organizations and cults would call us rigid and dogmatic, the Bible is very clear. Jesus says "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by Me." If there are other ways, Jesus died for no reason. We can't earn salvation no matter how good we are or how many great and wonderful things we do in His Name. We can't add to it, or change it. No one can buy it for us or receive it on our behalf. It is a personal decision that I have to make as I'm faced with the reality of my sin and my inability to do anything about it. It involves accepting Christ's diety, believing that He took on human form, willingly gave up His life as my sacrifice, & was raised again after His death. It means that I receive the payment He made as my own, acknowledging His right to be Lord of my life. Its end result is transforming power on earth that changes me and allows me to become all that God meant for me; it means living to please God and obey Him even when life is hard; it means realizing that I have a heavenly home waiting for me when this life is over; it means I have access to God in dealing with every need that I have; it means so much more than this entry allows me to write. It means New Life...
While all that is true, and I believe it with all my heart, I love the first part of the quote. There are many ways we come to Jesus. Some of us came as a direct result of early Christian training. Some have come through friends or family members who cared enough to share Jesus' love with them. Some came because God heard their desperate cry in impossible circumstances, saved them in a miraculous way, & they were forever changed. Some heard & received the Word through revivals, radio, television,...
The Bible is full of examples of how different people were saved. Paul was called in a supernatural way. The woman caught in adultery was dragged to Jesus. The paralyzed man was carried by friends. There were many who came because they were searching, or desperate, or curious, or hungry, or sick. They came for different reasons but the touch they got from Him caused a spiritual awakening in their hearts that could not be denied. The situations are as varied as the people who came to the Lord, but the point is that they came. And almost everyone came because someone took the time and courage to tell them. That part hasn't changed. While it's not our job to be the Holy Spirit, we do need to reach out and touch others, encouraging them through words, actions, or persistent gentle nudging, always backed by prayer! God doesn't command us to try to force others to believe, to intimidate them, or to be obnoxious. That usually backfires by hardening their hearts anyway. He does command us to simply Share the Good News so that the door is open for the Holy Spirit to work. It may be an invitation to coffee, or a Bible study or church; it may be through a card or letter; it may be as a part of casual conversation. And relax...their response to the Gospel isn't your responsibility either! Your job is simply to share. That's it!! Don't let insecurities, questions, rebuffs, or rejection shut you down! And you don't have to wait until your life is perfect because..."news flash" It will never be perfect!! We're all sinners who live in a fallen world, walking the walk together & hopefully progressively maturing in our faith as we go!!
The bottom line is that the people around us need Jesus and it's up to us to help them find Him, in as many ways as we can. After all, aren't you glad you found Him? Don't you wish everyone could?
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