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A Lent devotional on John 14:1-7
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Hello, I'm Finney Thomas, the outgoing CEO of JKPS, based in West Bengal in India. We have been a ministry partner of WorldShare for over 23 years. Did you know, it is estimated that West Bengal is about 2.5 times larger in land mass than the UK, but our road network is less than 25% of what you have? Yet, no matter how much road you have, it doesn’t take much to get lost.
In John chapter 14, Jesus makes a startling claim that puts Christianity at odds with all other religions. He is preparing his disciples for his soon-to-come departure. We know that despite Jesus’ repeated endeavours to explain that he would be taken from them, they didn’t understand.
In verses 1 to 4, we see Jesus telling his disciples that he will go to prepare a place for them in his Father’s house, which has many dwelling places, and that if he goes, he will come back so that they can be together again. He then tells them that they already know how to get to where he is going.
I love Thomas’s honesty, who vocalised what was probably going through all the others’ minds. Basically, we don’t what you’re talking about. It’s at this point that Jesus makes arguably his most controversial statement, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.”
He was saying that anyone on another pathway that they think will lead them to God is lost. The reason is simple - there is no other way to enter into the intimate relationship that God intends with humankind, than by accepting the forgiveness offered through the sacrifice that Jesus was soon to make. This may be one of the reasons that so many people hate Jesus and why Christianity is accused of not being inclusive. The truth, however, is that the way, despite being narrow, leads to life in all its fullness and is open to everyone, without restriction.
At JKPS, this truth is the basis for all that we do. We plant community development centres, and through these centres, we cater to the spiritual, physical and material needs of people. We try and show them the love of Jesus which flows through our lives. We serve marginalised children through sponsorship. Our main focus at JKPS is children, since they form a major percentage of the population in this country. If you want to find out more about our work, please click here.
