Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
—John 14:5-6
This past week was full of amazing experiences, as I led Abogar International Ministries’ Xposure Xperience in Guatemala! One of these times was when I was joining three leaders of InnerCHANGE Xela and my teammate, Don, in a hike up a prayer mountain (La Muela/Cerra Quemado) near Almolonga, Guatemala. As we climbed this prayer mountain, people were praying, praising, and preaching all over. There was a very real sense of the presence of the Lord there!
As we made our way to the very top, we found a nice place to sit and share in prayer and reflection together. After this great time of fellowship together, we decided it was time to head back down. But as we were trying to head down a funny thing happened. We could not find a clearly distinguished trail down off this mountain. It is the remnants of an old exploded volcano, and so the mountain is made up of volcanic rock everywhere. We tried a few different ways down, but were unsuccessful. Finally we decided that we should ask a local from one of the church groups or families for some help. As we were looking for someone to help, a pastor noticed our search and came to our aid. He told us that he was going down, and that we could just follow him. Having someone who knew the way, and could lead us, made it so much easier!
As we quickly journeyed down the side of the mountain, I shared with one of the leaders, Chris, how this situation brought the verses above to my mind. So many people in life are lost, off track, and trying to find the way. Jesus clearly stated that He is the Way, and that we are to follow Him.
While some may run, others walk, and some even limp and crawl, following Jesus is the only Way to get to heaven and have an eternal love relationship with God Almighty. It is not what path you follow, but rather who you follow. Jesus leads each of us in a different journey in life, but takes us all who follow Him on the path to eternal life. Are you stuck on a mountain today? Are you having a hard time finding the path? Are you frustrated and confused… “How do I get off this mountain?!” I truly believe that there is only one way. —> Follow the only One who really knows. Follow Jesus. Follow the Way!
