Has anyone ever asked you what one verse in the Bible speaks to you the loudest? If you could say in one verse what your faith is built on, what verse would that be? I have heard people refer to it as their life verse. Mine is John 6:68 where Peter exclaimed, “Lord, to whom would we go? Only You have the words of eternal life.”
In this story in chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, crowds were following Jesus. They had recently witnessed the miracle of Jesus feeding 5000 men, plus women and children, with a boy’s lunch. Jesus, knowing their hearts, began to challenge them as to why they were following Him. He knew they only wanted bread to eat and hoped He would supply it again.
Then He made a difficult statement to understand. He offered a narrow path choice. Jesus told them His flesh was the true bread and unless they eat His flesh and drink His blood, they could not be His followers. Wow, that must have been hard for them to understand!
I have heard that statement called a “hard teaching”. Jesus’ teaching at the Last Supper had not happened yet. People of that day had never had communion as we do. They had no reference point to help them understand His meaning. Most of the crowd left because they could not make the path choice He offered. Jesus probably sounded crazy to them. When Jesus turned to His disciples and asked them if they too were going to leave Him, Peter made the statement that has become the rock foundation of my faith. “Lord, to whom would we go? Only You have the words of eternal life.” Truly the narrow path.
Those words ring like crystal to me. Only our Lord has the true words that lead to eternal life. Any other words might seem right, but when passed through the filter of scripture they are not crystal. They are not God’s narrow path. I assume Peter and the rest of the disciples were as confused as the crowd. However, they had something going for them and the rest did not. They believed Jesus would never lead them down the wrong path and they believed in time He would help them understand. As Peter said to Jesus, “Only You have the words of eternal life. Where else would we go?”
So where do we go? Where do we turn when we are unsure and needing direction? What path will we follow. Paul wrote in one of his letters, “Test the spirits”. If we take any thought or situation that is facing us and “test it”, we will know if it is from God or the enemy of our soul. Think about how it makes you feel; comfortable or uncomfortable, lovingly convicted or harshly condemned. Confused or clearly understood. If we let the Spirit help guide us to God’s narrow path, the “voice” speaking to us will become obvious.
So, what happens if the answer is not obvious as with the disciples in this passage? I believe there is a simple answer to that. If God is directing us to do something, He will make it clear. Satan is the master of confusion, not God. I have a simple rule I use, if I do not know what to do, I do nothing. Our God will make it clear if He needs me to step into a situation. He will clearly show us the narrow path in His timing. Where else would we go for guidance? I cannot imagine.
I love wordsmiths, and Rich Mullins is one of my favorites. He has a way of saying things in his songs that my heart wants to say, but I cannot put the feelings into words. He created a song titled Nothing is Beyond You that speaks of the awesomeness of our Lord in such a way I just want to share it with others. Here is part of the lyrics. They are taken in part from Psalm 139.
Where could I go, where could I run
Even if I found the strength to fly
And if I rose on the wings of the dawn
And crashed through the corner of the sky
If I sailed past the edge of the sea
Even if I made my bed in Hell
Still, there You would find me
‘Cause nothing is beyond You
You stand beyond the reach
Of our vain imaginations
Our misguided piety
The Heavens stretch to hold you
And deep cries out to deep
Singing that nothing is beyond You
Nothing is beyond You
Time cannot contain You
You fill eternity
Sin can never stain You
Death has lost its sting
And I cannot explain the way You came to love me
Except to say that nothing is beyond You
Nothing is beyond You
“You stand beyond the reach of our vain imaginations, our misguided piety”. When I hear these words, I am overwhelmed with His Majesty and Sovereignty.
“I cannot explain the way You came to love me, except to say that nothing is beyond You” leaves me with nothing else to say.
Rich Mullins died in a plane crash shortly after he wrote this song. If you want to listen to it, you can find it on You Tube sung by Amy Grant. I pray it touches you as deeply as it touches me.
In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus made what is to me the clearest statement describing the principle of the path. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
In John 10:7-9, Jesus tells us He is the narrow gate. “Therefore, Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.”
The Biblical principles Jesus taught are the narrow gate. The Holy Spirit guides us through these principles to find the Biblical path. Jesus told His disciples in John 16:7-13, just before He was crucified, “Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you…when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth.”
So, when you come to a choice of paths in your life’s road, turn to the Guide and “He will guide you into all the truth”. He will never lead you astray. His guidance is clear. When we cannot clearly see which path to take, remember our enemy is the master of confusion, not God. Remember, when standing at the fork in the road and searching for the Biblical path choice, Matthew 7:7-8 says, 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Our Lord will not fail to show us His will. That is a principle of the path we can count on. So, following the first greatest commandment comes down to total faith in Him and His word. How do we follow the second greatest commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself”?
Christian Life Coach 