GodReflection: Power Words

My Grandpa believed in the compass mounted on the dashboard of his car. Never did he seem to be lost.

We were often on an unfamiliar road when he would declare with confidence it was the right way. Rest assured—by his compass—Grandpa knew where he was going.

There were times in my life when I was major lost. I didn’t have Grandpa’s compass skills.

In the New Mexico Guadalupe foothills, I took a wrong turn in a canyon and walked for hours in the wrong direction. When I came out of the canyon to see a familiar road I knew I was far from camp. I had lost the way.

On more than one occasion, I found myself lost in the humongous cities of South America. My way wasn’t apparent. I couldn’t find the way. Certainly—as a member of the male race—lost was not a sufficient reason to ask for directions.

I like the early description of the disciples who lived in the first century. They were those who followed the Way. They believed Jesus’ self-description of being the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Converts to Jesus happily and precisely acknowledged they follow the Way.

Saul—prior to his call by Jesus—set out to stamp out the Way. Others publicly maligned the Way. Luke reports of an occasion when a great disturbance about the Way in the city of Ephesus bordered on transformation into a riot.

The Way was a threat to the status quo.

Here is what I think:

Let me have a small space for a self-rant.

It’s a shame that Christian, rather than the Way, evolved into common usage to describe those who followed Jesus. I find Christian used only three times in Scripture. The first two seem to be in a derogatory manner.

The third use is by the Apostle Peter when he writes to the Way he says, “if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed.” I would suggest that his intent is to encourage the disciple not to let insults discourage them as they follow the Way—not even the insult of the label Christian shouted by hecklers.

Today, cultures across the world use the word Christian to describe a number of things that have nothing to do with following the Way.

To follow the Way is to follow the way of Jesus. To follow the Way is to follow the way of love. To follow the Way is to follow the way of integrity. To follow the Way is to follow the way of truth as lived out by Jesus. To follow the Way is to follow life as promised by the Teacher. To follow the Way is to find God.

There is power in the Way.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Although, I may not always recognize the road, I will not be lost as long as the needle on my compass points to the Way.

Stay tuned.

Dr. Gary J. Sorrells – A GodReflection on Way as a Word of Power.

Gary@GodReflection.org