“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
The little spotted brown dog leaped up through the open doors of the bus and made himself comfortable in the seat across from Sam. Sam almost fell out of his chair! Shocked, he tugged at his mother’s sleeve.
“Mom! Where’s this dog’s owner?”
“I don’t think his owner is around, Sam. I think he got on all by himself!” Mom seemed a little surprised, too.
The little dog was very well-behaved, Sam thought. He was sitting with his paws together, and he didn’t bark at all. As the bus rolled on, the little dog stared out the window or sometimes looked over at Sam.
“He’s riding for free, Mom. We had to pay for our bus fare.”
“You’re right, but I don’t think that the bus driver really cares. Now, if this dog were a human, then he would have to pay in order to ride the bus.”
The dog was looking at Sam now, and it made him a little nervous, so this time he leaned closer to his mom and just whispered. “What would happen if we tried to get on the bus without paying like that?”
“Well, Sam, I think the driver would have to ask us to get off the bus – he might never even let us get on in the first place.”
“Oh!” shouted Sam, so loudly that both Mom and the little dog seemed to jump a little in their seats. “It’s like getting into heaven, isn’t it?”
“I’m not sure what you mean, honey.”
“My Sunday school teacher was teaching from John 14 about Jesus being the only Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
Mom looked at Sam thoughtfully, and even the little dog seemed to be listening attentively.
“Yeah, Mr. Beecher said something about getting ‘admitted’ or ‘let in’ to heaven. He said that Jesus is the only Way God can let us into heaven, because we’re not allowed to get there on our own.”
Mom nodded. “That’s true. We’re not allowed to, and we’re not able to, either.” She pointed at the little dog seated across from them. “This dog is smart enough and quick enough to hitch a free ride on the bus, isn’t he? But we don’t have the freedom or the ability to wash ourselves clean enough of sin. We can’t even buy our way into heaven with a ticket. We just have to trust Christ to take us there. His righteousness and power are enough to cover for all that we don’t have. Jesus Christ is our only ‘valid,’ or ‘acceptable,’ way of gaining entrance into God’s heaven.”
“So that means that I have to trust and obey Jesus, because He is the only One Who can help me come to God, like it says in John 14.” Sam smiled over at the little spotted dog. “I bet he didn’t know he was going to help explain a Sunday school lesson to me today.”
As the bus came to their street, Mom and Sam stood up. As they walked toward the door. Sam reached out his hand to pet the dog’s head. “Good dog!”
Through Jesus Christ, and only through Him, we can gain entrance into God’s heaven.
My Response:
» Do I really believe that Jesus Christ is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life?
» Am I tempted sometimes to trust in my own good works or my own understanding to help me please God?
» How can I show by my life that I am trusting in Christ’s righteousness and power to help me?