Religion is like a mountain…so the saying goes.*
And, we’re just all at the bottom of that mountain trying to figure out the best way to climb it.
My path may be different than your path, but that’s okay…
Because all the paths lead to God (or whatever you call him).
The Buddhist path.
The Hindu path.
The Christian Scientist path.
The Muslim path.
The Mormon path.
The Christian path.
(Insert your path of choice here).
One mountain…many paths…same destination.
The question is, can this even be possible?
Can all religions by true?
Or, to put it another way, can all religious paths lead to the same place?
For all religions to be true (and lead to the same place), two things would have to happen…
- God would have to be a universalist.**
2. We would have to be able to achieve the impossible…
We would have to be able to save ourselves.
But, the reality is, we can’t save ourselves.
We can never be good enough.
Nice enough.
Generous enough.
Holy enough.
Separatist enough.
Perfect enough.
Or religious enough to save ourselves.
Because religion doesn’t save anyone…only God saves.
So, God looks down on His creation from the top of that mountain and sees the impossibility of anyone reaching Him…
And He makes a way.
The way.
He sends an angel named Gabriel to a virgin named Mary, who tells her that she will bear a son whose name is Jesus.
This Jesus will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give to Him the throne of his father David…and of his kingdom there will be no end.
Because, as Gabriel says, nothing will be impossible with God.***
God did the impossible.
God is doing the impossible.
God will do the impossible.
He has made the impossible possible by sending His Son Jesus down the mountain to us.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
He is the way, because He is the path.
He is the truth, because He is the only path that truly leads to God.
He is the life, because the end of His path is eternal life with God.
Every religious path requires faith.
But, the Christian path is the only path where you’re putting your faith in someone other than yourself.
And, that someone is Jesus Christ.
The Bible says that God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, and that whoever believes in Him will not die…but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
God’s way to salvation is Him coming down to us and doing the impossible.
All of the other paths to Him require us to find a way to save ourselves…
And, that’s just not possible.
*Oprah made this viewpoint popular back in the early 2000’s, and it’s still going strong in our culture today.
**A universalist believes that all humankind will eventually be saved.
***For the rest of story, read Luke 1:26-38.
PJ's Monday Musings 