I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father except through me. – John 14:6

I love it when God gives me a realization of what happened to me in times past. I have never thought of John 14:6 as a process that a person goes through until this morning. As I reflect back on 25 years of Christianity, Jesus has truly been the way, the truth, and the life.

At 16 years of age, I was convinced that there was a Heaven and a Hell. I didn’t want to go to Hell, so I said the “sinner’s prayer.” Unfortunately, after saying the prayer, I consistently chose my own way of doing life over His way of doing life. I was the very definition of a hypocrite. I said I was Christian, but I acted like I wasn’t.

About 5 years later, I didn’t like where my way of life had taken me. I was dirty when I got saved, but by this point, I had become absolutely filthy. God had been convicting me constantly over those years, but I kept ignoring Him. He finally gave me the ultimatum: “Adam, choose Me and My way, or keep doing things your way. But, if you choose your way, stop saying you are a Christian.” I didn’t want Him to leave, so I knelt by my bed and chose Him. His way, from that point on, would slowly become my way.

Over the next few years, a major transformation happened. I got filled with the Holy Spirit. The result was a real desire to read and understand His Word. I would read His Word and just know what I was supposed to do. One time, upon reading Revelation 21:8 and reading that “all liars will have their part in the lake of fire,” I became terrified. I was a liar. I hit my knees and said, “I don’t know how to change . . . help me!” From that day on, it became possible for me tell the truth regardless of the cost. I became brutally honest with myself and with Him. His truth slowly became my truth.

God has transformed my life. He continues to transform my life. Since He came into my heart, He helped me step off the wide road of destruction onto the narrow road that leads to life. I cannot even count the blessings I’ve received from doing life His way. Everything I have, everything I do, and everything I am began with direct decisions I made for Him. His life has become my life.

I think there are two lessons to be learned from this. The first is to be patient with Christians, especially new ones. God takes His time in the process of transformation. He is timeless, so He never rushes and He always does things right.

The second is that if you claim to follow Him and claim to have chosen His way, then the next step is to be brutally honest with yourself and with Him. Examine your heart. Are you as close to Him as you believe is actually possible? If not, why?

If you will answer with the truth, He will show you the way. If you follow His way, you will know abundant life.

Later

Adam