Thursday, April 14, 2011

Can you draw me a map?

This morning I read what is probably one of my favorite chapters in all of Scripture.
John 14: 1-6
"Let not your hearts be troubled.Believe in God; believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4And you know the way to where I am going."5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 6Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.



My heart has been troubled lately, for a multitude of reasons that have ended up leading to general exhaustion. I'm confused, lonely, apathetic, disgusted with my sin, etc etc. But the more troubled I get the more I long for simplicity. I long for one thing to train my eyes on. One thing to quiet the endless white noise of all the shit and busyness in my life. Simply put, what I long for is Jesus. Maybe that's stating the obvious, but sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. We add a lot of other non-essentials into what we think it means to be a Christian, and tend to think it's a lot more complicated than it actually is. Thomas- he and I are birds of a feather. Jesus has just told them, "Hey, don't freak out. Believe in my Dad and believe in me. I promise I have a place for you. You know me, you can trust me. You already know how to get to this place." And Thomas, the wheels turning in his brain says, "Wait, no we don't. Do you think you could draw a detailed map for me?". The truth is, I'd have probably asked the same question, trying to cover all my bases in case I got lost or started doubting whether I ever knew the way to begin with.  And Jesus just says, "I am the way. That's all you need to know." 

Jesus is it. I love how the book of John has so many way to describe what He is to us. 

Jesus is the way. Jesus is the truth. Jesus is the life.- John 14:6
Jesus is the vine. The source of growth for us his branches - John 15:5
Jesus is bread. He satisfies our deepest hunger- John 6:48
Jesus is a shepherd. We recognize His voice and He looks after us -John 10:11
Jesus is a ladder. Our connection point to the divine- John 1:51
Jesus is light. So we can see in the darkness- John 8:12
Jesus is a lamb. The final sacrifice for our sins- John 1:29

Theologian Karl Barth uses a diagram to describe how finite creatures can have anything to do with an infinite God. 

The  inside of the circle represents all of humanity. everything that has ever happened or will happen. The line (which by it's very nature is infinite) will only touch the circle at one point and that point is Jesus. He is our connection with Something that is wholly other. 

And I couldn't dream of a more perfect, lovely, heart-thumpingly beautiful connection point. When I remember to just look at Him, I forget all about wanting a map.

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