Author: James Shum, Pastor, Chinese Presbyterian Church of Oakland
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14: 1-7, NIV)
This famous passage reminds us Jesus is “The way, and the truth, and the life.” We may overlook the latter part of this verse: “ ... if you had known me, you would have known my father also hence forth you know him and have seen him.” Besides Moses who else has seen God face to face? Jesus brought up this subject to help us re-establish our relationship with God. Let us answer the question that Jesus asked; “If you had known me (Jesus) you would have known my Father also.”
Christians claimed that they are the followers of Jesus. They need to ask, “Do I really know who Jesus is?” We sing in the hymn “Everybody ought to know” so loud and clear. Yet, how many of us deeply appreciate the lyric of the hymn? Do you confess that “He’s the Lily of the Valley, he’s the Bright and Morning Star, and he’s the Fairest of ten thousand everybody ought to know?” Yes, everybody ought to know but do you really know Jesus? Would you confess that Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life? If you do are you able to share with us “How has Jesus change your life after you followed him?”
Jesus made it very clear that if you know Him, and follow Him, you will know God the father. John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.” So if you knew Jesus, you would know the Father also. Do you know God your Father?
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The ISAAC 2009 Lenten Devotional, edited by Rev. Dr. Johnson Chiu. This devotional was written by Asian American English ministry leaders and pastors in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. To purchase, click here: Road of Suffering, Road to Glory: A Lenten Adventure with the Savior
