“Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. My Father’s house has room to spare. If that weren’t the case, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? When I go to prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to be with me so that where I am you will be too. You know the way to the place I’m going.” Thomas asked, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you have really known me, you will also know the Father. From now on you know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father; that will be enough for us.” Jesus replied, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been with you all this time? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I have spoken to you I don’t speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me does his works. Trust me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe on account of the works themselves. I assure you that whoever believes in me will do the works that I do. They will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father can be glorified in the Son. When you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:1-14, CEB)
This text has the line that makes people want to say that Jesus it the only way to Heaven.
Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” But does this say that Jesus is the only way to heaven or eternal life?
This text doesn’t really deal with eternal life and so any mention of that added to the text is reading into what is written.
The Father’s house has many rooms to spare and Jesus is going to make sure there is a space prepared for you and will come back to take us there. And we know where he is going because he has shown us through his life. And then he says “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus doesn’t say you don’t get into the house without him, he already said he was preparing a place for us there and was going to come back and make sure we didn’t get lost.
Jesus says the only way to the Father is through him. Or more specifically no one comes to the father except through him. Now does that mean getting into heaven or getting to be in the Father’s presence? Are these the same thing? I would say no.
There are many paths that lead to eternity and we should not say someone is damned because they choose to take a path different from us. Paul speaks about obtaining the third level of Heaven. So Paul seems to say at one point there are multiple places to arrive in Heaven. Eternity is a long time and we will all come to an understanding of loving as God does over that time and maybe you don’t get to be in the Father’s presence at first. Why do we want to say that this is the only way?
Jesus, himself said there are sheep from other folds that will be a part of this. and how did they get here?
We should be ok living in the shades of gray rather than looking for clear-cut answers.
Live in the questions and love that God gives us.
Loving People. Loving God.
aSacredRebel 