Sunday, July 11: The Way

A common misconception in religion is that there are many paths to God. Whether it is Buddhism, Islam, Shintoism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, or a mix of any of those, many people hold to the notion that a belief in God is virtually the same. Yet by studying world religions, though there might be some similarities, the differences are much more apparent. God created each of us, and in every one of His creations is a gaping hole that only He can fill. Many try to fill that hole with that which will not satisfy: drugs, alcohol, fame, fortune, possessions, sex, family or anything apart from God that we could add to that endless list. Is God easy to find?


13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Matthew 7:13-14


While the gate that leads to God might be narrow and difficult to find, it is not hidden. God’s desire is that all of us might come to know Him, and He wants us to find Him. To me, finding God is not like searching for a needle in a haystack. Instead, seeking the Lord is like searching for something that is so huge that we have a tendency to take it for granted and overlook it. God is as plain as the nose on your face, as the saying goes.


When I travelled to the Middle East, one of the most eye-opening stops was Petra, Jordan. Bible scholars believe that Petra will be the haven in the wilderness that will house the Jews in the second half of the tribulation, prophesied about in Revelation. Petra is a city carved into sandstone, as the outside walls are ornately decorated into the soft rock, and the caves inside are large enough to house millions of people. Yet the most interesting part of Petra involves the journey in. There is only one way into Petra. A pathway leads between the granite walls hundreds of feet tall, and winds for miles, curving like a bow. At times, that pathway is fairly wide, but it narrows to the width of six feet in places. Without knowing the city exists, it would be easy to completely miss it. Interestingly, the pathway into the city is called the Siq in Arabic, meaning, 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.
 John 14:6


Jesus did not claim to be one of many paths to God. He insisted that He was the only way. Early believers in Christianity were called by that moniker, “The Way.” Those who believe in many paths to God should think of what occurs at an airport.

Let’s say that you are in Houston, Texas, and want to fly to Paris, France. If you get on a plane to Buenos Aires, Argentina, you certainly won’t be in Paris when the plane arrives. In fact, you will be much farther from your intended destination than when you began. Certainly, all paths don’t have the same destination. That being said, another series of airplane flights can correct the erroneous part of your journey, getting you to Paris eventually. In the same way, even if we start our journey to God by going in the wrong direction, we can stop wherever we are and point ourselves in His direction. You don’t have to be near an airport to start that journey or to point yourself back towards God if you have been seeking the world.


13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13


7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Luke 11:9-13