I’ve heard good Christian teachers and read good Christian authors who have presented truths that seemed more like formulas to guide me from one point to another instead of something that quickened my heart. While the lessons themselves were valid, there was an underlying emptiness.
One day, I approached John 14:6 with a fresh perspective. Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can reach the Father except through me.”
Perhaps, many of us have grasped that Jesus is the Way and the Truth, yet are missing the spirit of the Life? Can we separate Truth from Life and still have Life? As a teacher and writer for years, I admit that I have been guilty of this mistake. Truth is powerful, and it sets people free (John 8:31-32), but truth (in this context, good teaching) cannot stand alone apart from Life.
Life is fellowship with God. Adam and Eve were created to walk and converse with God in the Garden of Eden. Truth, in my view, emanates from fellowship with Him. We often speak of “relationship” with God, but we rarely discuss “fellowship.” Relationship is inherited, while fellowship is a choice.
Truth that is disconnected from Life can be reduced to a formula. However, Truth that emanates from fellowship with the Father becomes Life. John comprehended this and expressed it as follows: “We declare to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may also have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).
John’s intention in writing this letter was to invite others into the same fellowship with the Father and the Son that he had. Everything a person needs is derived from his relationship and fellowship with the Father and Son. Those who seek only what God can produce in their lives and not God Himself will always struggle to receive. Those who cherish a genuine fellowship with the Father and Son will naturally receive everything they require as a consequence of that profound relationship. That which we witness and hear in fellowship with the Father is Truth and Life.
You cannot separate Truth from Life and still have Life. Until we choose true fellowship with the Father, we will be left with mere formulas and frustration. I have personally experienced this, and you probably have as well. I strongly encourage you to seek fellowship with the Father. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the Truth of His Word to you. It will never be a formula; it will be Life.
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