Scripture of the Day
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” — John 14:6
Reflection
C.S. Lewis, the Oxford scholar and author, famously argued that the one option not available to us regarding Jesus is that he was simply a great moral teacher. Jesus claimed to forgive sins, to be the bread of life, the resurrection and the life, the way and the truth -- claims that no great moral teacher would make. Lewis put it plainly: a man who said the things Jesus said would either be a lunatic, a liar, or exactly who he claimed to be. The category of "admirable teacher" is not on the list.
This is not an argument for intellectual bullying. It is an invitation to take Jesus seriously on his own terms rather than reducing him to something more comfortable. Many people are drawn to Jesus' ethics and teachings while keeping his divine claims at arm's length. But he did not offer that option. He said, "I am the gate. I am the shepherd. I am the life." Not "I will show you the way" -- but "I am the way."
Colossians says he is the image of the invisible God, the one through whom all things were made, the one in whom all things hold together. That is not a description of a moral philosopher. It is a description of the Lord of the universe.
Question for Personal Reflection
Are there ways in which you have reduced Jesus to a manageable size -- a teacher to admire rather than a Lord to follow?
Action Step
Read Colossians 1:15-20 slowly today and sit with the full weight of who Paul says Jesus is.
Prayer
Lord, we confess we sometimes make you smaller than you are. Expand our vision of who you truly are -- and let that vision change how we live. Amen.
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