It’s easy for Christians to fall into a rut: Church is a thing you do, prayer is a box to check, and faith seems far from “the real world.” This fall we let Jesus himself confront our ruts. “Do you believe this?” he asks (Jn. 11:26).
To believe in Jesus is to experience him. It’s more than logic, argument, and doctrine. It is intimate knowledge of God himself. This fall, let Jesus himself speak to you in his seven “I AM” statements in the gospel of John. How is he changing you? What response is he inspiring in you? To believe in him changes everything.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Ponder:
Ponder the I AM statement: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Consider how Jesus said “way,” singular. Ponder how our society is pluralistic – many ways. What do you think when you hear Jesus’ exclusive claim?
Word
John 14:17
“…Instead, I have called you friends, for everything I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
Meditation: Connection by Susan Becher Schultz
It’s easy to ignore tragedy when it happens far from home. But it’s not quite so easy when it happens in your city, your neighborhood, or your child’s school. After the recent shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School, St. Louis must reckon with a loss of safety on multiple levels. There is no news story or investigation surrounding the event that will capture just how horrific it is. It is scary, and senseless, and a reminder of how broken the world truly is.
“…Instead, I have called you friends, for everything I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 14:17)
I know this seems quite drastic to the paragraph that precedes it, but I invite you to try something. Picture your closest friend. Think about how much joy they’ve brought into your life. Try to think of what their laugh sounds like, how it rings out fully when something is really funny. What is a particular trait that you love about them? What happens in your body when you think of this friend? Maybe your chest feels warm or your shoulders begin to relieve tension.
There’s a beautiful thing that forms when we find a friend: a true connection. This connection bonds you to the other, a safe place for both of you to be yourselves. Jesus knows we need our friends, and it’s no mistake he mentions friendship in this passage in John. Jesus recognizes this special relationship we have with our friends, how we can be seen and loved by them. These connections buoy us up in times of crisis. When evil threatens to take away everything from us, it tends to misunderstand just how interconnected we are. What is meant to break, only strengthens. Though these connections we have in our lives won’t stop tragedy from occurring, they remind us we are not alone in our suffering.
I think it’s so important to also recognize Jesus in a friendship role, as so often we hear him described in holy and leadership roles. In this passage in John, he gives us a beautiful picture of what kind of friend he is: one who will lay down their life for another. Which is just the kind of friend we need in times like this. A savior who commands us all to love one another, knowing full well this is what will help us grow closer together when evil threatens to tear us apart.
Dear Lord, thank you for treasuring your connection with me and encouraging me to connect with others. Please be with the friends and family members of all of those who lost loved ones and were affected by the recent shooting.
Prayer
Jesus, you said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In a world of competing ways, show me the narrow path that leads to you. I have tried paths that lead to nowhere. You alone are truth and life. Draw me close to you. Amen.
Benediction
Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (I Tim. 1:17)