We Can Follow Jesus and Still Miss Jesus

Part of the human condition is seeking something to anchor ourselves to or identify ourselves by. Some of us have let someone or something else define our “why.” And that doesn’t mean they are all bad things, some are good, but even good things can get drastically out of balance and begin to demand our allegiance.

The problem is that all of these other things eventually run out. Wouldn’t it be great to build our lives on something greater, rather than when all those other things have run their course?

John 14
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Thomas is focused on where Jesus is going instead of who Jesus is. Thomas is looking for something to do, rather than someone to encounter. What’s interesting is that Thomas has been following Jesus for a while at this point.

We Can Follow Jesus and Still Miss Jesus.

John 14
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus is the whole ballgame – the only way to God. If you know Jesus, you know God. That’s why it’s all about Jesus.

Jesus is the Way

We all need saving, and when we follow Him, it leads us on a path in a specific direction. That path means we no longer get to take other paths.

Jesus loves you right where you are, but also loves you too much to leave you where you are.

What we want to do so often is add Jesus to our way, rather than going His way. That’s not how it works. You can’t take 2 paths at the same time. Jesus isn’t a list of things to emulate, He’s the path you take throughout your life.

Jesus is Truth

When you are on a path, you need something specific so that you stay going in the right direction and don’t get lost – a reference point.

There are movements in life that try to unhitch a person from Jesus or His words, but that misses something critical about reference points.

A reference point must be both immovable and visible.

What do you do with a reference point? You refer to it and check your direction, path, or progress in relation to it. That’s why we put the whole Bible in such a prominent place. But this creates a tension between a path and a reference point. We don’t like tensions. It takes work and effort to maintain tension.

Moving on a path risks us losing the reference point.

• With the truth, but without the way (the path) – we can know a lot but not go anywhere, and our lives can remain untransformed.
• With the path, but without the truth – you can make a lot of movement and even progress, but wander far from the path, and get lost.
  
  

When a Christian detaches from the truth of Jesus because it’s exclusive and demanding, they get lost.

They disappear down the rabbit hole of philosophy and self-actualization. Whatever fire they had quickly burned out. This is why a Smorgasbord religion, where you pick a little of this and a little of that, skipping over other things you don’t like, never works.

Jesus is the Life

There’s the path, which is the way of following Jesus. There’s the truth of who you’re following. There’s spirit, the life that animates the way and the truth. All work together like the legs of a stool. If one’s missing, the stool falls over.

It’s entirely possible to study the truth about Jesus, learn about the person of Jesus, and still miss the way of Jesus.

This can be said for anyone, whether you’re an atheist or a Christian. You may know the Bible from front to back, but if Jesus doesn’t animate your spirit, your way is not Jesus' way.

The same can be said for people who do tremendous good in the world. They serve, go into dark and difficult places with great hearts, but without the truth of Jesus, it’s just more striving.

Jesus becomes your inspiration and moral example. An inspiration doesn’t have to be alive to do that, but the way and the truth ARE alive.

Hebrews 4
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

When we hear the word "Word," some of us think of the Bible, but in the original language, the word is "logos." It means Jesus – it means the way, the truth, and the life. Lead Pastor Michael Hoddy explains that this matters so much because it’s the only way we can LOVE like Jesus.