What did you expect?

We had an interesting discussion in Sunday School this morning about the first few verses in John 14:

1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Now, we, as Christians, have no trouble with the assertion of Jesus in this passage; that there is no other way to heaven other than by believing in Him. However, non-Christians, atheists, agnostics, and others, have a REAL hard time with this concept! They say we're arrogant to say that one must be Christian to inherit everlasting life. They contend that "karma" makes more sense, or that "religiosity" gives one the right to earn a place in heaven. They contend that only a horrible God would send His children to everlasting hell! Frankly, these arguments remind me of the kids at school - "Mister! Why did you fail me the last 6 weeks?" I usually respond, "I didn't fail you; YOU failed you! All I did was keep track of your progress!" God doesn't send ANYONE to hell, however, when we, the obstinate, selfish beings that we are insist on going there, He's more than happy to oblige! Also, it's not as though we're making this stuff up just to make you feel bad! These are the words of Jesus, not ours! We're more than happy to tell you what He said, but the "only way is Jesus" concept came from Him! So, don't say that we're arrogant or whatever when we tell you what He said! We're just passing along crucial information!

Actually, our main conversation this morning centered on the statements of Philip, who asked to see the Father. Jesus replied that if you had seen Him, you HAVE seen the Father! What were they looking for? The Pharisees kept asking for a sign, as if raising the dead, healing the sick, making the blind to see, the lame to walk and the deaf to hear was not a sign enough! To me, it all boils down to a "spiritual existence versus a physical existence" thing. The Jews were looking for a Messiah who would restore the earthly kingdom of David and give them political power on earth. They're still looking, BTW. However, they're not the only ones. Certain "Christian" sects deny the divine nature of Jesus and insist that their non-belief in Him is inconsequential. There's a verse in John 4 that gives a really good clue about the nature of God:

22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

God is a spirit! He exists in the eternal and He's mainly concerned with our spiritual welfare and that on an eternal basis! That's not to say that He cares NOT about our day to day lives, but it IS to say that, in the big picture, our little aches and pains here are just a radar blip compared with the rest of eternity and where we wind up in that circumstance! Jesus came with this in mind and setting our eternal salvation in motion was His mission here on earth! I thank God that He came and set us free and I'll proudly proclaim that Jesus IS the only way! Sorry if that upsets your karma! - Dan