I Am the Way: exclusively
inclusive
In this politically correct 21st century world in
which we live, there exists a strong tendency to prohibit discrimination of any
kind. We are taught to celebrate all
viewpoints and all lifestyles as equally valid.
All truth is subjective. After
all, who’s to say that the path one person chooses to take should be assigned
more or less value than another. Our own
direction may well work better for us but it is considered secular heresy even
to suggest that it may work best for all. Not only are all people created equal but so must their choices be considered equal as well. Those who would propose otherwise are labeled
intolerant or even hate mongers.
This passive mode of discussion is presented as being “progressive”
although its effect on the course of human development really turns out to be rather
“regressive” and even repressive. Rather
than encouraging a healthy exchange of alternate or opposing perspectives to be
contemplated in a search for what is transcendent, a stagnation of thought is
promoted resulting in a bland mish mash of passionless dialogue where any
assertion of excellence (excel-lence) ascribed to one idea as compared to
another is regarded simply as too narrow minded.
Be it known that I’m not here speaking in defense of rigid
or mindless adherence to a particular train of thought. Obviously, the thrust of my blog stands in
stark contrast to such mental inflexibility. However, in this particular discussion I am suggesting
the need for a certain balance in this regard lest one fall prey to the ill effects
of the opposite extreme. As I often have
told my children, “it is good to keep your mind open, but not so wide that your
brains fall out”… or for that matter, your common sense!
Unfortunately, religious dialogue often degrades into one of
these two extremes. One side takes the
stance of total flexibility in esteeming all spiritual paths equally, and the
other assumes absolute rigidity in granting no value whatsoever to any other
path than its own. The problem with the
first group, as I will explain shortly, is in their failure to recognize the
presence of a single God-given preeminent revelation, and with the other group in
their misunderstanding of that revelation, ignoring its ultimately inclusive
essence while clinging rigidly to its temporally
exclusive aspect instead.
In reference to the Christian faith, the two sides shape up
something like this: the more liberal
seeker may ask -- why should we grant the Biblical description of God’s nature more
credence than that of any other holy book?
Can we not attribute the differences in religious viewpoints merely to
divergent cultural histories or simply to personal tastes or fantasies? If God is actually to be found at the end of
all paths as Hinduism asserts, then who can say that there is one religion
superior to the next? All the great
prophets should be revered equally and the person of Jesus Christ viewed as
just one among many more or less equal peers – to which the Christian
conservative might respond by pointing to Jesus himself who in no way condoned
such a flat assessment of the veracity of other spiritual paths. He declared himself not only to be a better way to God, but the only way when he stated, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.” (John 14:6
NIV)
In this paper, I will attempt to show that it is only through
a synthesis of these two divergent views that the whole truth of God’s
intentions can be understood and that the Bible when taken as a whole does
support just such a paradoxical union. It proclaims both that Jesus is the Way and that all men will find that Way… or better still, that the Way (The Good Shepard) will find all men (His lost sheep).
On the face of it, it would appear
contradictory to claim that God will “find” all men and bring them in through The Way when the Bible clearly states
that most of mankind will follow that “broad road” to their final
destruction. How can we square such prophetic
descriptions of the demise of the human race with the ecstatic outbursts of
ultimate reconciliation found in Paul’s letters? How can both ultimate destruction and ultimate
reconciliation both be true?
Like so many other seeming
contradictory messages in the Bible, this is really not so hard to understand
when one places each in its proper context.
That is, we must not lose sight of the grace-enhancing message found in
the big picture while dealing with
the grace-constraining realities of the small
picture. Limited as it is by the bounds
of our short lives here on earth, the small picture clearly catalogs the
overwhelming failure of most people to find The
Way. The big picture, on the other
hand, includes opportunity for growth in the ages to come and describes a final
outcome of unequivocal victory.
Furthermore the big picture strips
us of any basis for establishing a permanent division of mankind by forcing us
to take an honest look at all of our own miserable scorecards in regards to
this temporal existence. Paul sums it
up like this in his letter to the Romans: “There is no one righteous,
not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All
have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does
good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12) Then continuing on, lest we despair, later in
that same letter he concludes the matter with a statement of the big picture: “For
God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them
all.” (Romans 11:32 NIV)
In this way the Gospel may rightly be deemed exclusively
inclusive. This dual nature of God’s
election has been manifest even from the beginning, starting with God’s acceptance of
Abel’s form of worship and rejection of Cain’s. From that time until now, God’s selective
way of dealing with mankind has been nearly universally misunderstood by those
called to partake in it. Take for
example the story of the Israelites who had been chosen exclusively as the people of God as it were, quite in spite of
themselves and primarily for the expressed purpose of spreading God’s favor to
the Gentile. They were to be a blessing
to all nations but instead became enamored with their own self righteousness
and were quite impressed with the great wisdom of God in choosing them alone. So incensed were they by the gracious
attitude of Christ towards the Gentile “dogs” that on multiple occasions they
were ready to stone him. Having thus failed
miserably in delivering on the broad scope of their calling, the task of
bringing God’s blessing to the world then fell upon the followers of Christ.
Well it is plain to see how well that has gone. In spite of the many great acts of compassion
delivered by the Church over many centuries, Christians have wasted no time in
falling for the same self centered delusion regarding their own election, not
recognizing their tenuous status as but “wild grafts” onto the olive tree of
God’s “native” family. To paraphrase
Paul’s no-holds-barred reminder to the Christian Church regarding a tendency to
take it all for granted, he said… “You can be replaced!” But in spite of warnings such as this, rather
than learning to fulfill their calling as “first-fruits” brought forth in His
ministry of reconciliation to the whole world, they have been lured into
thinking themselves somehow worthy on that final Day of Judgment to be declared
the “only-fruit”. And so
today, it is widely, nay almost universally held by the Christian Church that the
grace of Christ must be limited to those who properly respond to it in this
present age alone. Having swallowed this
great Devilishly inspired error hook line and sinker, they remain by and large
satisfied to leave most of the sheep outside the fold...forever!
Thankfully, the fulfillment of God’s will on earth does not
depend on the degree of faithfulness of any of His chosen groups to their
calling. It is based solely on God’s
desire and promise to bring us all back home -- and surely, “…our faithlessness
will not nullify His faithfulness”. (Romans 3:3-4 NIV)
Why is it then that Christ refers to himself as the only Way? What
is it about God becoming flesh that is so vital to the restoration of our
sin-sick souls? Why should we concede
an elevated status to the life and message of the person who, though claiming
equality with God, lived so simply and died so tragically? A closer look at the unique impact of the Incarnation
may provide the answers.
Of course there is validity in other philosophies and
religions, but while all of them speak of the need for spiritual union or
reunion with the Creator, the onus for such personal development always lays
squarely on the created. Christianity bears a stark contrast to this
otherwise universal man-seeks-God paradigm wherein all must struggle up the
ladder of virtue if they are to ever reach the heavenly abode of the hands-off
Deity, where only the “worthy” and the successful may abide.
On the contrary, in Christ we find the “unworthy” being
exalted ahead of the rest and the unsuccessful seated at the head of the
banquet table. In this singular
exception among the religions of man, it is the Deity who does the seeking, thus
guaranteeing the finding. Inserting
Himself directly into the flow of history, He actively acknowledges the need
for His passionate participation in the healing of the breach. He guides without coercion the destiny of man
in such a way as to leave us free to choose while yet ensuring the consummation
of all things according to His will.
(See future blog posting: Our
Freedom is Absolute---ly limited)
Until confronted with the Cross, the concept of unconditional
Love is –well, just a concept, a fantasy with no foundation in reality, perhaps
flowing from some imaginary fountain but with no apparent source. Such love cannot exist, we lament, at least not
for us who have wandered so far from home.
Certainly a being who sits on a faraway heavenly throne, aloof from our
pain and indifferent to our destiny, could not be expected to deliver such
nourishment to our souls… then it happens. The veil is torn in the temple and God’s true
nature revealed. Not only is He found to
possess this kind of love for us, He is this kind of love. For the first time, our eyes are opened to a
suffering Father who is intimately involved in our struggle and totally
committed to restoring our communion with Him. Even as
we beat Him and hang Him to die on a bloody cross, He proclaims forgiveness for
all and turns our violent rejection into a triumphant resurrection, thus revealing a
glimpse of the prize that awaits when all creation is made new.
Nothing short of that will do the trick. There is no substitute. It had to be an actual demonstration in time
by the One who started this whole thing, showing that He too has more than just
a little skin in the game and that His love for us knows no bounds. Not only that, but the pain that we ourselves
must suffer in this life, whether of our own doing or at the hands of others
(or at the hands of God for that matter) had to clearly be shown to be both
necessary and well worth enduring. It
is the acceptance of this revelation of God’s nature and our responsive
participation in the spreading of that love in both word and deed which will
bring about the eventual reconciliation of all people and all things in Heaven
and Earth.
So assuming for the moment that the Creator of the universe
did take physical form in the person of Jesus Christ, and if the crux of the
message delivered by Him was one of infinite unconditional love for all
mankind, then how pitifully poor is the man who attempts to live a “good” life of
love towards his neighbor while remaining ignorant of, or disconnected from,
the source of that love. How pale by
comparison are all the philosophies and religions based on man’s attempt to
find God but which deny the most powerfully significant event in the history of
the world – God made man… or God made Lamb!
Awareness of that love, and the actual personal experience
of the same, will provide the reserves and inner peace necessary to effortlessly
turn the other cheek, to return good for evil and love for hate. Heartfelt practical kindness can then flow naturally
to those who by their calloused contempt or ungrateful attitude are least
deserving of it. Sure, progress can be
made toward this end without direct knowledge of God’s supreme act of love but
it will always run out of steam at some point in the struggle unless firmly grounded
in the Source.
Will all accept Christ in this age within their lifetime on
Earth? Of course not, but many are
likely to at least begin the passage through that “narrow gate” perhaps without
even knowing its identity. In other words, many will accept the implicit
message of the Gospel of Christ in life’s experiences and be transformed by the
power of His Unconditional Love without
ever hearing the name of Jesus mentioned.
For example, it may come disguised in the form of undeserved mercy from
a friend or family member. Or “worse”
yet, recall in the parable of the Good Samaritan the deep impact resulting from
having to accept mercy from one who is despised. A
person thus affected will never be the same and will to one degree or another begin
living the ministry of reconciliation without ever hearing of any Biblical
reference to the same. (See blog post: "Love Thy (Samaritan) Neighbor")
While all paths may not lead to God, and certainly all paths
are not “created equal”, nonetheless
they thankfully do all lead to The Way to God. No matter where our life’s choices have
taken us, eventually Christ will find us there and draw us into communion with
the Father, whether in this age or in ages to come. As is always the case with our big-picture-God,
whenever He establishes a separation of people, it is only on a temporary basis
and is always for the expressed ultimate purpose of permanent restoration. In the short run a separation of lifestyles is
produced between those in alignment with God’s ways and those who choose
otherwise. In the long run though, it is
the consequent contrasting outcomes themselves which become a critical part of
the growth process that eventually steers all people back together into harmony
with the best.
May we therefore continue to put forth the best that we know
in a spirit of healthy debate, holding together “in the unity of the Spirit…
until we all reach unity in the Faith” (Ephesians 4:3,13 NIV). In other words, total agreement will come
later. The Spirit of brotherly love is
available here and now and is enough to keep us on the same team if we would
only allow it to be so. It is central to the Gospel message that we
are all in this together and that only together will we reach the other
side. Christ will have His whole body
restored, not just part or even most of it.
May God hasten the day when we all begin to act like the
holy siblings we are. And in that day though
some may have worked in the Master’s Vineyard from dawn to dusk, they will no
longer seek out a greater reward but will grace-iously
and wholeheartedly embrace the late arrivals as their equal. And together joyfully we will include those
who have been excluded and will celebrate with those who were last even as they
are made to be first… amen!
