It Really is Who You Know

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”…”All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me, and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.”  John 14:6; 6:37

Jesus had told His disciples to not be worried because they believed in God and also in Him.  When He returned to His Father in heaven, He was going to prepare mansions for His followers and would come again and bring all of them with Him.  Wherever He went, His followers would go also.  In other words, those who love Christ would always be with Him.  He told His disciples that they knew where He was going and the way to get there.  However, Thomas spoke up and said that they didn’t know where He was going nor the way there.  That’s when Jesus spoke what is likely the most important statement in scripture concerning the only way to the Father–through Jesus as the way, truth, and life.  It seems that many folks have either ignored Jesus’ truth or refuse to believe Him judging by all the different ways folks think that they can please God and get on board the train to heaven.

In the corporate and entertainment worlds, people say that it is not what you know but who you know that opens doors into these organizations.  I have seen television programs that portrayed a scene of a popular night club with a very long line of people standing outside waiting to get in.  Buildings have fire codes that only allow a certain number of people inside.  There is usually a guard posted at the door of the establishment who monitors the number of people who get to go inside.  No one gets past this “bouncer” until he allows entrance.  As the scene progresses, a celebrity or some popular person of influence always gets to go at the head of the line.  He or she gets admitted just because of who he or she is.  This person usually has a connection to the club owner.  This person also usually has an entourage with him or her, and they will also be admitted just because they are in the company of this popular person.

While there is no comparison between heaven, God’s glorious home and a smoke-filled, noisy nightclub, one thing is similar:  in order to enter heaven, you must know the One who has the right connection in heaven–Jesus Christ.  The Old Testament shows us why God required such a great sacrifice of Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross.  God set forth the standard by which His people were to live.  He was very adamant that His laws be followed.  But He was also very generous to those who loved Him and were very conscientious about observing His commandments.  The problem was, though, that man could not live up to God’s standard.  God would not lower His standards to accommodate man.  Since man’s behavior was below God’s standards, there had to be another way for man to be made acceptable and to come into fellowship with His Creator.  To be reconciled to a perfect God requires a perfect Sacrifice of God’s choosing.  It’s God’s way or no way.  One either comes by way of Jesus Christ or they will forfeit heaven for hell.

In these same television scenes, sometimes folks get tossed out of the club for various reasons: drunkenness, rowdiness, and fights.  I am reminded of all the westerns that I have seen where a fight breaks out in a saloon, and someone gets thrown out the swinging doors onto the wooden sidewalk.  Folks sometimes get asked to leave certain establishments for various reasons.  Today, people get “cancelled” because they don’t think like those who cancel them.  In this sin-filled world, there’s really no assurance that folks will be accepted wherever they go.  However, there is one person who will accept us, warts and all, and that is Jesus Christ, God’s Son, King of kings and Lord of lords.  When God sends the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins, and we repent of our sins because we agree with the Lord that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and place our faith in Christ, God will not reject us.  As John wrote in John 6:37, Jesus will under no circumstances cast us out when we sincerely come to Him for salvation.  When believers stand before God, Jesus can say, “It’s O.K. Father, they’re with Me.”