“Do You Know the Way?”

There is one thing my family loves to tease me about – I get lost all the time. If we drive somewhere new, you can almost guarantee that when it is time to leave, I will be pulling out of the driveway and asking, “Is it left or right?” Cue the collective groan from everyone in the car. I am not great with directions.

In chapter 14 of John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to people who are also feeling lost and anxious. Jesus is sharing his final meal with his disciples, just hours before he is arrested and crucified. He tells them that he is about to leave, and they are deeply troubled. They do not want him to go. But Jesus explains that his leaving is necessary. He is leaving to prepare a place for them in his Father’s house. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus makes a way for us to be forgiven, restored, and welcomed into the eternal life of his Father’s house.

Thomas, one of Jesus’ close friends, is still confused and worried that he will be separated from Jesus. He says, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus responds with words that are simple yet amazingly comforting. Jesus says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus is saying that knowing the way is not about directions or effort – it is about a relationship. Simply put, if you know Jesus, you know the way. If you know Jesus, you are never truly lost. We do not have to work at finding a way to God. There is no mystery; we are simply invited into a relationship. We are invited to know him, to trust him, and to walk with him.

How wonderfully kind Jesus is to those who feel lost. He invites us to come and know him – and no matter where life takes us or what we face, he promises that we will never be lost again. If you know Jesus, you know the way home.