I Am: The Way, the Truth, and the Life
Object Lesson: Ask your kids to name a place they would like to visit (grandma’s house, Disneyworld, etc…) then use the mapping app on your phone to give you the route.
We use maps all the time. They show us the right way to get to the place we want to go. Maps on our phones show us different routes we can take and estimate how long it will take to get there. It will even give us turn-by-turn instructions.
In John 14:1-6 Jesus promises the disciples that one day they will be with him forever in a special place that he has prepared. Now that is something to look forward to! Not wanting to miss it, Thomas asks Jesus a very important question, “How do we get there?”
Read: John 14:1-6
Jesus makes it clear there is one way to get there, and that is by trusting and following him. Like the map on your phone, the trip has a starting place, a destination and a bunch of travel in the middle. The starting place is believing that Jesus is God’s Son and that his directions are best. The destination is heaven, a special place where we will see Jesus face to face and be with him for eternity. In between we follow Jesus and the directions He gives us. To help us, Jesus gave us his Word, the Bible, his Holy Spirit, and a bunch of other people who are following him to love and encourage us. There will be turns, stop signs, detours, and we won’t see the whole route, but we can trust Jesus because he is the way and the truth and he knows what is best.
Let’s thank God for giving us Jesus, who is the way and truth and let’s ask him to give us the faith to choose to follow only his directions and not our own.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that Jesus is the way and truth. Help us to trust and follow only him. In Jesus’ name, amen.