The Way

This is the third time I have quoted this verse this month. Maybe it will be the last time. But maybe not. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).

Jesus Christ is the way. He provides the way to return to Heavenly Father and He provides the way to live now. I think there are at least two ways Christ can be considered the Way. The first is that He is the means to heaven and the second is that He is our Exemplar.


The Way: the Means
"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture" (John 10:9).

"And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh" (Mosiah 5:8).

There are so many paths we choose from in this life. A lot of different ways to go. But there is only one Way to return to Heaven. It is only through Jesus Christ, the Savior, that we can be forgiven of our sins, redeemed, and given eternal life. He provides the only way.


The Way: the Exemplar
Jesus Christ invites all of us to come, follow Him. To follow Him means to follow His example, to try our best to live as He did. Of course we can't do that perfectly. But we can continue to repent, rely on the Savior, and improve our lives with His help. He expects us to follow His example.

"For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you" (John 13:15).

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps" (1 Peter 2:21).

"And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved" (2 Nephi 31:16).

Christ provides for us a perfect example. I like how Peter says we should follow in His steps. I know that means footsteps, but it brought to my mind incremental steps. We progress little by little, enduring the best we can, and relying wholly on the Savior. We can work diligently to do as He did when He was on the earth. Reading the scriptures and praying help us to come to know Jesus Christ personally. Then we can understand more completely what He would have us do every single day.

We can pray, as the psalmist did, "Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths" (Psalms 25:4).