“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Apollo 15 was speeding toward earth after having completed its mission. Its journey had been almost300 hours long and and the crew had travelled close to one half million miles. The mission set many records including the longest time to be on the moons surface. Now the crew was ready to reenter the earth’s atmosphere. To do so they had to reenter the atmosphere through a corridor less than 40 miles wide at an angle of 40 degrees, The force of deceleration and the heat generated during re-entry Increase with the steepness of the angle relative to the atmosphere. If the crew’s angle was too steep, the spacecraft would burn up and the crew inside it would be crushed. If the angle of descent was too shallow, the spacecraft would hit the edge of the atmosphere and skip off like a stone skipping along the surface of a pond. Thus the crew aimed for the one way, the only way, to reenter their home planet.
The world we live in today is set on destroying all absolutes. Dogmatism of any kind is seen as judgmental and demeaning too others. Every man is perceived as his own god who is permitted to
have his own truth This means we live in an age that is similar to the book of Judges in scripture where every man does what is right in his own eyes. We read those words in the book of Judges and the impact of that philosophy does not really strike us. We don’t think of the implications to true believers then. Today, however, we see the impact of the “cancel culture” and we begin to understand the horrors to society when God’s Word is cast aside and man rules himself as the giver of truth.
Just one way. The unbelieving world often mocks Christianity because it is too narrow. This starts with ridicule that the Bible teaches Christ is the only way to God. How can Christians be so narrow? We live in inclusive world, there are many different faiths, other’s beliefs are just as valid to them as yours are to you. How do you answer that question?
The first answer is always the right one. We believe Jesus is the only way because that is what God’s word says. In addition to the
Lord’s statement in John 14:6, scripture also says, “there is no other name given under heaven where by you must be saved.” We
don’t make the rules, God, the creator does and this is what he has decreed.
But why is the Lord Jesus the only way to heaven? R.C. Sproul wrote, “Moses could mediate on the Law. Mohammed could brandish a sword. Buddha could give personal counsel. Confucius could offer wise sayings. But none of these men was qualified to offer an atonement for the sins of the world.” Jesus is the only way for He paid the debt that opened the one way, the only way, to enter the presence of God forgiven.
As the Apollo 15 astronauts hurtled toward earth they could have taken the attitude there were many ways to enter earth’s atmosphere. They could have charted another way. Had they done that they would have met with disaster. Their faith in multiple truths would have been proven false but the proof would have come too late. That is also the plight awaiting those who say Jesus is not the only way. The truth will be confirmed, but too late for many. Don’t let it be you or the ones you care about.