Tell Me What You See ~ Separation Anxiety

Greetings Dear Reader,

I need to put myself in the place of the disciples for a moment.  I have been hanging out with Jesus for three years.  We have witnessed him raise the dead, heal hundreds, maybe thousands of people.  We saw them try to take him by force and he would elude them without fighting. Despite our varying levels of doubt, we all know that he is the Son of God.

Now, he is talking about dying.  He is saying that he is leaving.  He tries to comfort us.  First, Jesus reminds us that we should not be troubled:

John14:1-6 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

I need to unpack this from the perspective of the disciples.  Jesus is trying to comfort them with a roadmap of the future.  It is vague but clear all at once.  He has made it clear that he will die and rise again.  The disciples will not or cannot hear it.  There is room for all of them in the place he is going to prepare.  He is investing in their and our future by leaving.

He promises to come back.  He is coming back for all of us.  He says we already know the way.  Thomas, however, argues with Jesus that we do not know the place or the way.  We must pause in our unpacking to recall that Jesus called the disciples to follow him.  They have done so for at least three years.  Thomas still insists that he does not know the way.

Then, Jesus reminds them of exactly who he is.  He says, “I am the way.”  They simply need to keep following him.  He has given them all they need to do so.  He says that he is the way and they know him.  He has given them his power.  He has sent them out on their own and they have used that power.

He says, “I am the truth.”  They know that if he says he is leaving and coming back that it is true.  There is no truth other than this that they need.  They know how to follow even when Jesus is not physically present.  They are on the edge of their greatest trial.  They are facing the loss that will require all their faith.

Then, after speaking of his death he says, “I am the life.”  Remember how John begins.  “In him was life and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness but the darkness does not comprehend it.”  Again, we have that arching connection to life.  Here again is the fighting chance to live, to comprehend the light.  He tells us and them that we already have a way to escape the darkness.  He is the resurrection.  He is the way.

Thomas does not receive the comfort.  His faith will be tested and he will fail.  He will proclaim that he will not believe in the Life until he sees with his eyes what he is supposed to have already accepted by faith.  Jesus grants his request but promises us that there is a greater blessing for seeing Life where we are still in darkness.  We are called to follow the Way, live in his Truth, and find our life in his Life.  I must do all of this no matter how dark it seems or how grim the situation.  That is where we move and have our being.  Tell me what you see when you look at this way, this truth, and this life, Dear Reader.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          
Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
Facebook      
Twitter        
Medium       
Instagram 
BLOG Archive:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

We see the amazing beauty in a world that Jesus made in seven days.  Imagine the beauty of a place he has been preparing for millennia.