John 14:1-14 (NRSV)
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Chapter 14"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. Verse 2In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? Verse 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.
Verse 4And you know the way to the place where I am going." Verse 5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Verse 6Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Verse 7If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Verse 8Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Verse 9Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Verse 10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Verse 11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.
Verse 12Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Verse 13I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Verse 14If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
Devotion
We all take orders from somebody! Whatever we do in service for our fellows and friends is done with some outside direction. Members of the military seem to know this better than most. But all of us must march to the beat of a particular drummer or face the fallout.
From our youngest days of “follow the leader” and tracing treasure maps to nowadays with road atlases and GPS navigation, we need true and accurate directions lest we find ourselves somewhere we’d rather not be! We do not want to be fired or find ourselves on the wrong road, so we have learned to take orders, if even from the voice of the digital device stuck to the dashboard.
What about the spiritual voice stuck to our souls? Do we follow that voice even when it seems to order us in a direction the world thinks is off the mark?
Prayer
God of the life-giving way, may you calm our hearts. Help us to see that the path to you is only through our Lord Jesus, in whom the way is truly given. Amen.