John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me. He is — I. THE GIVER OF LIFE. We cannot go anywhere without finding living things. Heaven is full of life; for the angels live there. This world is full of life; for, wherever we go, we find people living. And, when we go outside of the homes, in the fields, on the hills, in the ponds, and rivers, and. seas, far down to its lowest depths, something or other is found living. And the air is full of life. And it is Jesus who gives life to all these things (Acts 3:15). But it is particularly because He gives life to souls dead in sins, and makes it possible for them to live forever, that Jesus is called "the Life." "I say, Charlie," said Willie to his brother, "isn't it nice to be alive! Why, only see how I can toss my arms about, and use my legs, and feet, and hands. And, then, I can see, and hear, and feel. It's real nice to be alive, especially when you are all alive and have no part of you dead." "No part of you dead!" said Willie. "Who ever heard of such a thing as being part alive and part dead?" "I have, Willie. It was myself. The best part of me was quite dead; and what made it still worse was that I didn't know it." "But what part of you was dead, Charlie?" "My soul was dead towards God. When God spoke to me, I didn't hear His voice; when He called me to look to Him, I couldn't see Him; and when He told me to love Him, I didn't do it." "Well, how did it ever come alive?" "Well, Willie, it was Jesus who did it all for me. He sent His blessed Spirit into my heart, to show me that my soul was dead; and that I never could be happy, and never go to heaven unless my soul was made alive. Then I prayed to Him, and He heard me, and ever since He has made me feel so happy!" II. THE SUPPORTER OF LIFE. We have no power to make ourselves alive, and when life is given we have no power to keep or preserve it, and therefore we need such a one as Jesus. Nothing could continue to live, if it were left entirely to itself. Some things, when they begin to live, need a great deal more care and support than others. Look, for instance, at a babe that is just born, and a chicken that is just hatched. How very different they are in the care they require! But there is nothing that requires more care than our souls, after Jesus has made them alive. We are in a position of great danger. If left to ourselves, we must perish. If we have a servant working for us, we can show him the work we want him to do; but we cannot give him the strength to do it. Jesus can do both. He is like a great mountain that can support everything that rests upon it, whether an army or a fly. And He is like the ocean, too. When men launch their huge iron steamers, by scores and by hundreds, the ocean supports them as easily as though they were light as a piece of cork. And so Jesus can support all His people. III. THE EXAMPLE OF LIFE (1 Peter 2:21). When Jesus makes our souls alive, then the one thing we have to do is to try to be like Jesus. A little girl went to a writing school. When she saw the copy set before her, she said; "I can never write like that." But she took up her pen, and put it timidly on the paper. "I can but try," she said. "I'll do the best I can." She wrote half a page. The letters were crooked. She feared to have the teacher look at her book. But when the teacher came, he looked and smiled. "I see you are trying, my little girl," he said kindly, "and that is all I expect." She took courage. Again and again she studied the beautiful copy. She wrote very carefully, but the letters straggled here, were crowded there, and some of them seemed to look every way. She trembled when she heard the step of the teacher. "I'm afraid you'll find fault with me," she said. "I do not find fault with you," said the teacher, "because you are only a beginner. Keep on trying. In this way, you will do better every day, and soon get to be a very good writer." And this is the way we are to try to be like Jesus. But when we read about Jesus and learn how holy, and good, and perfect He was, we must not be discouraged if we do not become like Him at once. But, if we keep on trying, and ask God to help us, we shall "learn of Him to be meek and lowly in heart;" and we shall become daily more and more like Him. IV. THE REWARDER OF LIFE. Those who love Jesus are the happiest in this world, and will be the only happy people in the world to come. (R. Newton, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. |
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