Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
John 14:6
I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4
When I think back on my early years after my salvation in 1985, I distinctly remember not being sure I was doing things right and I felt confused on what God expected of me. I had a definite understanding of how I needed to let the Lord rule in my life and He had to be in charge going forward. I also realized I had offended Him by my sinful choices and there was to be no going back to my old ways and habits. The Bible is a very big book with many commandments and instructions for living a life of faith, and I just could not see how I was going to make this work in the right way. To make matters worse, the first churches I joined after finding Christ were very worldly by any standards and the messages were mainly “get saved” types. Well, I had gotten saved, now what?!? How would I live for God in the details of life where decisions need to be made daily on many matters? How would I know what to do? Well thankfully, the Holy Spirit in me was gracious to guide me in many ways and He steered me away from my old sinful ways and into more God-honoring pursuits. Still, there was much growing to be done and I struggled in many ways.
In the above verses from the Apostle John, we first see that the only means of salvation is found in faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. Only by trusting in Jesus and what He did on the cross can we find a relationship with the Living God, the Father. But there is more to this verse; Jesus is not only the “way” to salvation, but He is also the truth and life we need to make it day by day. As we “abide” in Christ and choose to follow Him and walk in fellowship with Him by obedience, we find His presence in our life growing ever stronger each day. As we study the Bible and apply what we learn, God meets us where we are to help us live it out by His grace and Spirit. As a pastor, I affirm what John stated in the second verse given here that the greatest joy I have in serving God’s church is seeing a Christian live out their faith and walking in truth, which is living by Christ’s presence and power. It makes any sacrifices worthwhile in my ministry efforts to see others living for God’s glory, and not only saying truths, but living by them. Conversely, the most heartbreaking thing in ministry is seeing so-called believers turn from Jesus and the truths of scripture to give in to the world, the flesh and the devil’s power. I have known far too many people who started out well, but then turned from faithfully following the Lord to being participants and condoners of the ways of the wicked world system. I can feel the pain Paul had in writing Galatians 5:7. My friends, how are we doing today? Are we walking in truth/Christ and living by what we proclaim to be right? God knows our heart; He is not expecting perfection, but rather faithful and sincere effort. I hope that if the Lord lets me live many more years, each one will be more faithful in living by truth than what I am even doing today. I hope you also can say that for yourself! Blessings!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Gary Houdek