Passport begins its second week summer camps, with lots of excited campers hoping to grow in their faith as we explore our theme – Follow the Road. Earlier, I posted about the importance of following. But what is the road we are to follow? And how do we find it?
A road is quite simply a way to get from one place to another. Roads have been around since humans first began to settle. Roads are vital links between cities all over the globe. And when deciding how to get somewhere, roads usually make a fairly obvious choice – take this road, or hike up that mountain!
In John 14, Jesus says to his disciples, “You know the way (the road) to the place where I’m going.” Thomas protests as if saying, “No we don’t! How can we know the way?” And Jesus responds with these words, “I am the way, the truth and the life…” Quite a claim. I love that Jesus just lays it out there.
We often think of “the way” as a destination, as in the way to heaven. But Jesus isn’t saying that he is the destination – rather, he is the way to get there. Jesus is the road from where you are now, to where you are going. This is a wholly different thing.
The way of Jesus isn’t a call to be a teacher, mom or mechanic. It means that as you are (or are becoming) a teacher or mechanic, you put your life under the authority, the leadership, the Lordship of Jesus. You try to act and move and speak as Jesus would – with kindness and honesty; looking out for others, standing up to the bully, speaking truth to power.
And like a road, the way of Jesus is usually obvious – always acting with grace, never offering judgment, constantly pausing your journey to meet the need in front of you.
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David Burroughs
David Burroughs is the president & founder of of Passport, Inc.