⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

There is one, and only one way to God, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who lived in history. All roads do not lead to God, contrary to popular religious sentiment. This is one thing that is absolutely clear in the New Testament scriptures.

Christians are often accused of being narrow-minded and exclusivistic, which does not go over well in the prevailing pluralism and multi-culturalism of our day. Yes, there is a fundamental truth to the uniqueness of Christianity, but it is not because of Christian arrogance. The distinctiveness goes back to the originator of Christianity, Jesus Christ Himself. He said, “I am the way … no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Christians are simply repeating what their Lord and Master said about Himself. A statement like this renders the dismissive comment that, “Jesus Christ was a great moral teacher, but not God” as nonsense. If Jesus is not the only way, then His statement disqualifies Him from the patronizing praise of being a great moral teacher.

On the other hand, the uniqueness of Christ is a great truth. And by definition truth is narrow, because it does not permit falseness. An airport runway is narrow, but it is good. The roads we drive on are narrow. The laws of gravity are “narrow” in that every time you drop something, you can count on it dropping. We live in a world that continuously operates based on the so-called “laws of nature”; things always work in a certain, narrow way, and they don’t work if done in a different way.

The real problem with the “narrowness” of Jesus’ statement is that the human soul wants its freedom, like an airplane pilot wanting his freedom to land the plane perpendicular to the runway. He can do that, but only at the risk of his well-being. Reactions abound, but these are mostly non-objective concerns. “What about those who never hear of Jesus? If He is the only way, then it’s not fair to them.” Yet, as we are compelled to teach third world people about health and hygiene, Christians likewise are compelled to teach people who don’t know about “The Way.” Thus, the Christian missionary endeavor, precisely to tell those who don’t know.

This isn’t a new concept for the disciples in the Upper Room. Jesus had already taught them that He was the Door to the sheepfold (John 10:9). God has provided a way back to the Creator, against Whom we have all rebelled.

Father, I believe Your Son is the only way back to You and I believe in Him. Help me to never forget those who have not yet heard this truth.