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As I read the Bible this morning, I found myself back in John. John 14 to be precise. All I can say is WOW….just wow. If you haven’t read John recently, I encourage you to do so. Jesus is so real and so personal on every single page.
John 14 is a special chapter to me for several reasons. One is very personal. If you remember, I am a teacher, a high school teacher. Several years ago I had a student named Micah. I first met him when he was a rowdy and ridiculous sophomore. Micah came from a beautiful Christian family…but Micah was wild. And Micah was running from God…as hard and as fast as he could. Micah loved adrenaline…he loved pushing boundaries…he loved breaking rules….and he loved doing things his own way. One day, as a result of one of his crazy stunts in my class, Micah ended up spending some quality one-on-one detention time with me after school. Somehow we found ourselves talking about life, about family, and, most importantly, about God. And, during that brief time Micah and I spent together that day, God forged a bond between us. Really, God gave me a son that day….and a friend.
Long story short….Micah continued to run from God. Throughout his high school years, he spent a lot of time in my classroom, where we continued to talk about God and family and life. And then Micah graduated. As a testament to the incredible bond we shared, Micah visited me for years after he graduated, randomly bursting into my classroom at the end of the school day…and we continued to talk about God and family and life. Oh how I loved and prayed for that boy. And then one day, Micah stopped running from God. He turned around and ran to God, right into those outstretched arms of the Father, the Father who was welcoming him home. And then another day, Micah died in a motorcycle accident.
On one of those many many days that Micah and I spent sitting in my classroom and talking, we tiptoed reverently around John 14. Micah was deep and reflective, especially about God and about scripture…even when he was far from God. That was the funny thing about him. He 100% believed in God…he 100% accepted the gospel as the truth. He just 100% wasn’t ready to follow, to serve, to obey. And he knew that. He also knew he was walking a dangerous tightrope…but he did it anyways. Because that was Micah. So there we were, one random day after school, talking about God and family and life…and probably girls…who knows? And Micah randomly and sincerely said to me: “When we go to heaven, do you think my mansion will be near yours, so we can still visit?” Yep, instant tears. And through my tear-filled eyes, I gave him the only answer I believe to be true….YES. And on our conversation went, probably to his new motorcycle, which he even drug me out to the parking lot to see.
So John 14. On the night that Jesus celebrates the Passover with His disciples for the last time, on the night that He washes their feet, on the night that He identifies His betrayer, Jesus also tells His disciples, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward” (John 13:36). And then Jesus says, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:1-2). “Let not your heart be troubled.” Sometimes I chuckle when I see those words…. because simply reading the words on a page makes it seem so very easy…but in real life? Yeah, not so easy. But today God showed me that it actually really is that easy. Because Jesus spells it out precisely for us. Let me show you.
Picture the scene. There they are, these disciples who have forsaken all to follow Jesus. They have walked away from jobs, from family, from good-standing with the religious leaders….all so they can walk side by side with Jesus. And suddenly Jesus drops this bomb of a statement: “Where I am going you cannot follow Me.” What are they supposed to do with that? They have given up everything to follow Jesus…and now He says it’s over?? He’s leaving??? And they can’t go too?? Can you imagine their panic? I can almost picture their faces, mouths hanging open in shock and disbelief. I can almost hear the uproar, with Peter speaking louder than all the rest. I can almost feel their sorrow. And I can certainly feel their distress. Certainly, their hearts were troubled! And Jesus’ response? “Let not your hearts be troubled…”. That voice-that loving, compassionate, knowing voice-speaking calm and peace into their nightmare. And the answer? How are they not to be troubled? Simple. Simply BELIEVE. Again, I’m chuckling here, even as I write….because it never does feel simple. But Jesus said it is. And Jesus is still saying it is today. SIMPLY BELIEVE. And then He gives them a vision for the future. A future where they will be reunited with Him. A future where there is a mansion with their name written on it. A future with an inheritance in heaven.
I love Thomas in the Bible. He keeps it all so real. He speaks up, after Jesus makes yet another cryptic comment: “And where I go you know, and the way you know” (John 14:4). Remember, Jesus has just said that where He is going they cannot follow…and now He tells them that they know the way? Ummm…ok? Thomas is justifiably confused…and maybe even frustrated here. I certainly would have been. So Thomas, speaking out of that frustration and confusion, says, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” (John 14:5). To paraphrase: “Umm Jesus,….we don’t even know WHERE You are going, so HOW can we know the way?!!” To which Jesus drops the greatest truth bomb of them all….”I am the way” (John 14:6). To be complete and not to lose any of the power of that entire scripture, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). But for my purpose today, Jesus is the way. The only way.
Do you see it? Is your soul singing right now as mine was as I read those beautiful verses? We don’t have to be troubled today…not with life, not with COVID, not with finances, not with anxiety, not with our children. We just have to believe. We don’t have to feel lost today, like we cannot find our way out of our troubles, like we cannot find our way to Jesus. BECAUSE HE IS THE WAY! He is the way out, the way around, the way through, the way over….He is the way. The only way! Does my saying all of this make it easy? No! But that is the beauty of Jesus….if we can believe, then He makes it easy.
Still to this day, nine years after Micah passed away, that memory of him asking about visiting with me in heaven still brings tears to my eyes. Yes, they are tears of sadness because I miss my friend. To be honest, I miss him everyday. But they are also tears of joy…because I will see him again. They are also tears of joy because, through Micah’s death, I have gained a sister. Micah’s mom and I have become the best of friends, with a friendship built on our shared love and loss, but, more importantly, built on our shared promise for the future….a promise that we will see Micah again, that we will both walk arm in arm up to Micah’s mansion in heaven, that we will both get to visit with him again someday. In fact, I believe that Micah will be standing there at heaven’s gate waiting for us, grinning from ear to ear like he always did, anxiously waiting to show us around and share all the news, just like old times. And that’s why my heart is not troubled today…because I believe. Let me encourage you today….when this world and this life try to upend you, when you can’t find your way….know that Jesus says you needn’t be troubled. You simply need to believe….because He is the way.I