blog-maryBlog - Joyful Curmudgeon - Blog
A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 


John 14:6 – 19 August 2006
By Mary T. Hoffman

In John 14:6 of the New Testament, Jesus says “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (King James Version)

Or in the New American Standard Version: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”

Many Christians interpret this passage to mean that only born-again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are allowed to enter Heaven – all others are excluded, by which they usually mean that those rejected are “going to hell.”

After reading all of Chapter 14 again in order to put this passage, John 14:6, in context, I’ve come to a preliminary conclusion (or possibly an interpretation) of what Jesus is saying. It appears, in effect, that He is the Gatekeeper. He is not saying that the one seeking entrance must belong to a particular religion or adhere to any special doctrine. By saying that he is “the way, the truth, and the life,” He is saying that He represents the perfection that He wants us to keep before us as a standard:

Matthew 5:48

48 "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
~ New American Standard Version

I’m sure that nearly everyone has met or knows of people who live by high standards, but who are not “Christians.” These may include people who describe themselves as agnostics or atheists. Unfortunately, we’ve met many “unbelievers,” as well as “believers,” who have become disillusioned by the hardness of heart of those in Christian churches, including clergy.

And let’s not forget the Hebrew Testament’s children of God. Surely, some of them are in Heaven, too.

Continued tomorrow –

Go on to: John 14:6 (Continued) – 20 August 2006
Return to: Water Scarcity – 18 August 2006
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