THE LIFE - Part 3

” I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” — Part Three: The Life

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
— John 14:6 (ESV)

We have walked the Way — Christ as the path to the Father.
We have stood in the Truth — Christ as reality itself, not opinion or preference.
Now we come to the final and most confronting claim of all:

Jesus is the Life.

Not a life.
Not a better version of your current one.
Not moral improvement, religious energy, or spiritual enthusiasm.

Life itself.

Life Is Not Self-Generated

Scripture is uncomfortably clear:
Outside of Christ, humanity is not merely struggling — it is dead.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins…”
— Ephesians 2:1

Dead people do not rehabilitate themselves.
They do not reason their way into vitality.
They must be made alive.

This is why Jesus does not say, “I will show you how to live.”
He says, “I am the life.”

Life is not something He gives apart from Himself.
He gives Himself — and life comes with Him.

Life Begins at Regeneration, Not Resolution

Many confuse life in Christ with decision-making:

• Turning over a new leaf
• Becoming more disciplined
• Trying harder to be good

But biblical life begins with regeneration, not resolve.

“Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
— John 3:3

This life is received, not achieved.
It is a work of the Spirit, not the strength of the will.

You don’t add Christ to your life — you receive a new one in Him.

Life Is Union, Not Independence

Modern spirituality celebrates autonomy.
Jesus offers something far more radical: union.

“I am the vine; you are the branches… apart from Me you can do nothing.”
— John 15:5

Life flows only through connection to Christ.
Not proximity.
Not admiration.
Not imitation.

Abiding, not borrowing.
Union, not usage.

When we detach life from Christ, even our good works begin to decay into pride, performance, or burnout.

Life Is Eternal — Starting Now

Eternal life is not merely future-oriented.
It begins the moment Christ gives life to the dead heart.

“Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.”
— John 5:24

This life reshapes:

• Desires
• Direction
• Allegiance
• Hope

Not perfectly.
Not instantly.
But truly.

The Final Claim That Divides Everything

Jesus does not leave room for spiritual neutrality.

If He is not the Life, then death still reigns.
If He is the Life, then every other source is insufficient.

There is no life in religion without Christ.
No life in morality without Christ.
No life in truth without Christ.

The Way leads to the Father.
The Truth reveals reality.
But only the Life raises the dead.

Closing Reflection

Christianity is not about living better —
It is about being made alive.

And that life has a name.

Jesus.

Signing off,
Tyrone

THE TRUTH - PART 2

“I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” — Part Two: The Truth

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
— John 14:6 (ESV)

Yesterday, we looked at the Way — Christ as the path to the Father. Today, we slow down and consider the Truth, and in doing so, we must be honest about how different the world’s understanding of truth is from what Jesus declares.

Jesus does not say, “I speak truth.”
He says, “I am the truth.”

That one statement confronts every competing version of truth we live with daily.

The World’s View of Truth

We live in an era where truth has shifted from being objective to being personal. It is no longer something to be submitted to, but something to be claimed. The language of the day is filled with phrases like “my truth,” “follow your heart,” “speak your truth,” and “I am enough.”

These ideas are widely celebrated, not because they have been tested against reality, but because they affirm the self. Affirmation has become the highest good, while correction is viewed as harmful and conviction as unloving.

Yet Scripture offers a far more sober assessment of the human condition.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
— Jeremiah 17:9

If the heart is unreliable, then truth cannot safely originate from within it.

When Affirmation Replaces Examination

The danger of our current moment is not a lack of confidence but the loss of examination. Anything that challenges identity is resisted. Anything that causes discomfort is dismissed. Truth is welcomed only if it agrees.

Jesus does not affirm people in their brokenness — He meets them there and calls them out of it. He confronts before He comforts, exposes before He heals, and names sin not to shame, but to save.

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”
— Proverbs 27:6

Truth that never wounds is rarely truth that redeems.

Truth Is Revealed, Not Invented

The world insists truth is discovered by looking inward. Jesus declares truth is revealed by looking to Him. Truth is not constructed by culture, shaped by consensus, or adjusted by time. It is fixed because it is grounded in Christ.

Self-affirmation says, “You are complete as you are.”
Christ says, “Follow Me — and be transformed.”

One leaves the old self untouched.
The other produces renewal and holiness.

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
— John 17:17

Truth That Frees, Not Flatters

There is a kind of truth that soothes the conscience without changing the heart — and there is Truth that confronts, corrects, and ultimately frees.

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
— John 8:32

Freedom does not come from affirming who we think we are.
Freedom comes from submitting to who Christ is.

Christ, the Measure of All Truth

Jesus does not submit to culture, trends, or the affirmations of the age. Culture must submit to Him. If a belief contradicts Christ, it may feel sincere — but it is not true. If a conviction avoids Christ, it may sound loving — but it lacks power.

Truth is not whatever affirms us.
Truth is whatever aligns us with Christ.

He is the Truth — unchanging, uncompromising, and merciful.

May we resist truth that merely flatters and surrender ourselves to truth that transforms.

Grace and peace,

Signing off

 

Tyrone

I AM THE WAY - PART 1

 

Before we dive into today’s reflection, pause and consider the weight of these words from Jesus:

 

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

 

This is not a gentle suggestion. It is a bold, uncompromising declaration. It cuts through every human assumption about access to God, morality, or spiritual progress. In this statement, Jesus identifies Himself as the exclusive path to the Father, the embodiment of truth, and the source of eternal life.

 

I Am the Way – Part One

 

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
(John 14:6)

When Jesus makes this statement, He is not offering comfort, opinion, or religious poetry. He is making a definitive declaration about access—access to God, to life, and to salvation itself.

At the heart of that declaration stands the phrase “I am the way.”

Jesus does not say, “I will show you the way,” nor “I will point you in the right direction.” He says “I am.” The way is not a system to learn, a philosophy to adopt, or a path to customise. The way is a person. Remove Christ from the way and you do not discover alternatives—you lose the way altogether.

This is why the claim is so confronting, and why it has always been resisted. From the beginning, the enemy has rarely needed to deny God outright. His preferred strategy has been distraction, dilution, and displacement. “Did God really say?” was not a denial—it was a subtle redirection. And that strategy remains effective.

A clear example of this can be seen in what surrounds Christmas today.

What was once a proclamation of Christ entering the world has gradually been crowded out by sentiment, mythology, and marketing. Christ is pushed to the margins while Father Christmas takes centre stage. Then even that becomes uncomfortable, and the language shifts again— “Happy Holidays,” vague goodwill, generic cheer. Nothing is openly hostile. Nothing appears aggressive. Christ is simply no longer central.

This is how the way is discredited—not through open opposition, but through quiet replacement.

The enemy does not object to Jesus being acknowledged as a historical figure, a moral example, or a seasonal reference. What must be resisted is the proclamation of Jesus as the way. Once Christ is reduced to tradition or nostalgia, the offence of His exclusivity disappears. No repentance is required. No surrender is demanded. No narrow gate needs to be entered.

Jesus Himself issues the warning:

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” (Matthew 7:13)

The wide road is not obviously wicked. It is a busy, festive, inclusive, and vibrant place full of activity. It allows belief without obedience, celebration without submission, and spirituality without Christ at the centre. It feels kind. It feels reasonable. It feels safe. But it leads away from life.

By contrast, the narrow way remains narrow because it requires what distraction avoids: repentance, humility, and surrender. You cannot drift into it accidentally while occupied with everything else. You must turn, enter, and follow.

Access to the Father is not gained through goodwill, generosity, family traditions, or seasonal joy. Those things may be pleasant, but they are not the way. Jesus leaves no ambiguity: no one comes to the Father except through Him.

To discredit the way is not always to attack Christ. Often it is simply to crowd Him out—until He is mentioned but no longer followed.

Yet the mercy remains this: the way has not moved. Christ has not changed. Amid all the noise, the invitation still stands. The narrow gate is still open. And the way is still a person.

The question is not whether Christ is acknowledged this season, but whether He is followed.

Signing off

Tyrone

The Schoolyard Pick

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.” — John 15:16

Jesus speaks these words directly to the apostles—men personally chosen and commissioned to lay the foundation of the church. Their role is unique and unrepeatable. Yet the truth He reveals is not confined to their office. The apostles are singular in authority, but they are not singular in grace. Throughout Scripture, God consistently initiates relationships before human response, and those He calls are appointed with purpose.

This pattern is visible long before the apostles ever stood in that room.

Scripture does not tell us what Abram was doing in Ur when the Lord spoke, nor does it describe any prior seeking on his part. It simply records this: “The LORD said to Abram, ‘Go…’” (Genesis 12:1). The text places the initiative squarely with God and the response with Abram. Israel likewise was chosen not because of strength, number, or virtue, but because of God’s love and promise, and only afterwards were they given the law that would govern their conduct (Deuteronomy 7:7–8). Jeremiah was appointed before he spoke, before he served, before he could object (Jeremiah 1:5). Paul was set apart by grace and then confronted, called, and commissioned (Acts 9; Galatians 1:15–16).

The apostles, then, are not the exception. They are the clearest expression of a consistent biblical reality: God speaks first, God calls first, and those He calls are summoned into obedience and fruit-bearing.

The idea of being chosen by God often meets resistance. For some, it feels unfair. For others, it sounds exclusive—as though it removes human responsibility or excuses careless living. The pushback usually comes quickly: If God chooses, then what about obedience? What about effort? What about accountability?

Yet Scripture is not uneasy with this tension.

 

The Schoolyard Pick

Think back to a schoolyard. Two captains stand facing a line of kids. One by one, names are called. You don’t choose yourself. You hear your name and step forward.

That moment reflects a biblical reality:

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44).

Grace initiates. God calls first. We respond second.

 

Loved and Chosen Before You Perform

When your name is called, nothing has yet been proven. No goals scored. No distance run.
The choice was made before performance.

That is grace.

“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4).

We are loved and chosen not because of what we have done, but because of who He is.
Grace always precedes response.

But grace never ends the story there.

 

Once Chosen, Responsibility Begins

No one steps onto the field and says, “I’ve been chosen; therefore, I don’t have to play.”
Being chosen brings weight. You now represent the captain who picked you.

“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you” (Philippians 2:12–13).

Grace does not replace effort—it empowers it.

Once chosen, expectations are clear:

• You show up
• You listen to instruction
• You play your position
• You give effort
• You pursue the goal

Not to earn your place—but because you already have one.

“Created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10).

Grace gets you onto the team. Responsibility governs how you play.

 

The Danger of Pride

Even in the schoolyard, those chosen first can become proud. They may feel superior, glance down the line at others, or assume their place was earned.

The same danger exists in our understanding of being chosen by God. Pride can arise from assuming God chose us because we were better, or from thinking we chose God wisely or quickly.

This reflects the Arminian emphasis on human response. While it rightly stresses responsibility, it can drift into pride: “I believed because I was more open, more discerning, more willing than others.” Scripture cuts across that assumption:

“Who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7)
“By grace you have been saved through faith—and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God—so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9)

Election humbles before it exalts. Effort matters once chosen, but it did not place us on the team.

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6)
“God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise… so that no human being might boast before God” (1 Corinthians 1:27–29)

We step onto the field not looking down on others but looking back at the Captain who called our name—and forward to the responsibility that now rests on us.

 

The Goal Has Not Changed

Every game has rules. Every match has an objective.

“Run in such a way as to obtain the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24)

The Christian life is not aimless.
Holiness, obedience, and endurance are not optional.

“Without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14)

Election does not remove the goal—it makes it possible to pursue it.

 

Love, Discipline, and Correction

A good captain corrects his players.
A loving God disciplines His children.

“For the Lord disciplines the one He loves” (Hebrews 12:6)

Correction is not rejection. Discipline is evidence of sonship.

“If you are without discipline… you are not sons” (Hebrews 12:8)

If there is no correction, no conviction, no shaping, we must ask whether we are truly playing—or merely wearing the jersey.

 

Grace and Truth on the Same Field

“The Word became flesh… full of grace and truth” (John 1:14)

Not grace without truth. Not truth without grace.

Grace calls your name.
Truth trains your conduct.
Love keeps you on the field.

“If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13)

 

Conclusion

You are loved beyond measure.
You are chosen intentionally.
And you are accountable biblically.

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit” (John 15:8)

The captain called your name.
You’re on the team.

Now run.
Play your position.
And aim for the win.

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone