Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

Jesus said He was the only way to the Father and the Father is God. In short, the only way to meet God is to know Jesus. How do we get to know Jesus?

The world has some misconceptions about Jesus. Some believe He was a great teacher - an enlightened one. Others believe He was a prophet of God. While both of these statements are true Jesus was and is much more than that. Jesus is God, yet separate from God. Our finite minds cannot fathom this.

The Muslims believe they can know God by partaking in daily rituals such as praying 5 time a day to Allah and bathing before each prayer. I wonder how they ever get any work done. Others believe if they do enough good works, God will let them into heaven.

What was the answer that Jesus gave on how to know the Father?

4 And where I go you know, and the way you know." 5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." 8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. John 14

To know Jesus is to know the Father. So how do we get to know Jesus? What group of people does Jesus promise to keep from the hour of trial that comes upon the whole earth?

Jesus said to the church at Philadelphia, "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name." Revelation 3:8

The ones who keep the word of God are the ones who know the Father and will meet Jesus face to face. Christians who center their lives on the word of God will be the ones who see Jesus. They will not deny His name. Christians (I use the term as people who call themselves Christians but don't really know God.) who do not center their lives on the word of God cannot know God. They are the ones Jesus speaks of as making Him sick to His stomach.

You cannot know God through Allah or Buddah or any false prophet who claims to be God. You can only know God by knowing Jesus. There is no excuse for anyone that has access to the Holy Bible to not know God. How many have Bibles in their homes that are seldom, if ever, opened? What excuses are they going to make on the day of judgment?

It is easy for a Christian in the world of today to ignore God's word because of the wide variety of media choices at their fingertips. It is much more fun to watch a movie, play a game, get on the computer or read a magazine than it is to read and study the word of God. All these activities are enjoyable and make life more pleasant but these distractions have no eternal value whatsoever. The studying of God's word can reap eternal rewards but very few spend time there.

The following is an example of a Christian who spends too much time watching movies and not enough time studying the word of God. He wrote a letter to the editor of Midnight Call magazine that Hollywood movies had given him a clue to the identity of the coming Antichrist.

This person deduced that the now deceased Pope John Paul II would be resurrected as a clone and then empowered by Satan. He believed man has been cloning humans for 20 years and since clones have no soul then Antichrist would be a cloned human.

There is no scripture to back up this belief. He got his ideas from Hollywood. His problem centered on the fact that he was not abiding in Jesus and the word of God. Instead of getting his information from movieland, he should have listened to Jesus who said, "4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples." John 15

You get to the know the Father by knowing Jesus and you get to know Jesus by studying scripture. It is that simple yet many refuse to hearken to the Holy Spirit's voice that calls out to them. Don't let that person be you.

Copyright 2007 by Gary Goodworth