WHY JESUS: THE LIFE 

THE PRAYER             

• Find a quiet space.              
• Breathe deeply and recognise God with you in this moment.              
• When you are ready, speak to God about this time together.          
• After you've finished praying, go through the following passage a few times slowly and thoughtfully (preferably out loud).         
• Allow God to meet you in these words.

Lord, I’m single-minded in pursuit of you; don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted. I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won’t sin myself bankrupt. Be blessed, God; train me in your ways of wise living. I’ll transfer to my lips all the counsel that comes from your mouth; I delight far more in what you tell me about living than in gathering a pile of riches. Amen. Psalm 119:10-14 (MSG)

THE FIRST READING

Read this passage slowly (preferably out loud) as you allow God to meet you in these words. Pay attention to anything God might be highlighting as you do.

Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 (NLT)

RESPONSE

Take some time to respond (write down, draw, pray, etc.) to God’s prompting in the first reading of the passage. What is he highlighting and saying to you through this?

THE SECOND READING

Read the passage again (slowly and preferably out loud) through the “lens” of what The Spirit highlighted in the first reading. Listen for anything else the Spirit might be saying.

Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 (NLT)

THE REFLECTION

That’s what we’re all looking for, isn’t it? The life. The good life, the great life, the “my life is better than your life” life. At least that’s how it seems when you consider our preoccupation with pursuing happiness and pleasure. Not to mention how committed we are to share our success in that pursuit, however fleeting or superficial it may be, with the world on whatever social media platform we can find.

“Look, look! I found it! I found the life!” But have we? Has our preoccupation with finding the life we wanted actually satisfied the longing? I don’t think it has. Why? Is it perhaps because the life we thought we wanted isn’t the life we really needed? If so, where do we turn? How do we find what seems to be so elusive?

As with all great questions, the great answer is Jesus.

Unfortunately, so many of us have stopped looking to Jesus for anything. He is no longer an authority on truth, or justice, or life in our culture, and it shows. The unrest in our souls even in light of all that we have achieved is evidence that we are taking our deepest questions to the wrong places, which should make us wonder- why don’t we go to Jesus? Why do so many of us think about anything but life when we hear his name? Is it because we’ve misunderstood life, or is it because we’ve misunderstood Jesus? 

Regardless of how we answer these questions, the truth is simple.

Jesus is all about life!

Not only is He all about life; He is life. And not just any kind of life, but life and life to the full, eternal life; a life that brings light to the whole world. Whatever it is we think about Jesus, it is so important that we understand this. 

Jesus is offering us life. 

If we will follow Him, walk in His ways, and submit ourselves to His truth, He will lead us to a kind of life that goes far beyond anything we could imagine. He has not come to ruin you, to ridicule you, or to reject you. That is the work of the devil. 

Jesus has come that you may have life!

When we come to believe this, dropping our defense, surrendering into the trustworthy arms of our God, trusting the process regardless of what it may look like or feel like in the moment, that is when we begin to take hold of our humanity. 

Trusting God is how we find the life we so deeply long for.