There Must Be Something More

29 | The Way, The Truth, And The Life

I sat through the entire preaching of the Word. But before that, people danced and sang songs about God. Meredith danced with her friend, Anna, and then she'd sometimes nudged me by the elbow and I gave her a sheepish smile. I told her I don't dance. She just smiled and kept on dancing. I liked to see her dance, it was full of grace and carefree bliss. As if she did it all for the glory of the Lord. And in a way, I wanted to dance with her.

"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me," the preacher, Pastor James, began. The screen above him showed the Bible verse: John 14:6. "We were created by God, correct?"

"Amen!" the people answered, including Meredith. Samuel and I exchanged glances.

"And Jesus has specifically said He is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life," Pastor James said. He spoke the words not like a Catholic priest would. Catholic priests would just merely read the words and act as if it were just some kind of boring book report. But Pastor James spoke it as if it was alive. He spoke as if it came from his very heart himself. He spoke it with such feelings.

"People have wandered away from God. You can easily tell that, knowing today's generation," Pastor James continued. "Sexual immorality, homosexuality, feminism, and other things that people seek, thinking it's the way to peace. These people themselves are confused with what's right. You can see the fruits of their lives. They're not happy behind the scenes, insecure, doing immoral things, or hateful with the people around them, I don't know. What I know is that these people seek true peace. 

"But they seek it in the wrong places. They seek it in drugs, alcohol, immoral "love", religion. They try to seek the way, the truth, and the life. But they don't know how. Jesus is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life. Sometimes I think to myself, how could I ever describe it? How could I ever describe how real Jesus is?"

Everyone was silent. Meredith had her hands folded, her eyes trained onto the speaker. I was, too. I had never been so attentive in listening like this before. Usually, I only listened to music by Drake or Chance the Rapper or something. But this time, I was actually attentively listening to God's Word.

Whoa.

"Maybe some of you first-timers tonight ask me this question, 'Pastor, how do you know God is real? Have you seen Him?'" Pastor James added. He chuckled. "Man, I've had many questions like that from unbelievers. And it always gets me back to the John chapter twenty verse twenty-nine"--the verse flashed on the wide screen behind him--"Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Some clapped. Some yelled amen.

"But knowing these people do not know the Word yet, I tell him, 'When the wind blows, how do you know it is there?' And he gives me a blank expression and says, 'I know when I see a branch sway or I feel it for myself'. I told him, 'That's how it is with God! You see God through the people whom He uses. You see Him on people whom He changed for the better; for His glory'."

The people clapped and cheered and yelled amen. Meredith clapped with her hands held high. 

Pastor James continued, "You cannot believe how real God is in my life. Growing up in Bronx, New York, I had a very... awful childhood. My parents would fight every day and night. They would even drag me into it, asking me who was right or wrong. My friends would force me to drink and smoke at the age of thirteen. And at fifteen, I was on drugs. 

"And then I met a guy who just moved a few blocks from my house. He would walk his dog in early mornings. One morning, his dog trotted over to our lawn and started sniffing the flowers. As a dog lover, I approached the furry friend and started to pet him. And that's when I met this new guy named Mark. 

"To make the long story short, he and I became the best of friends. He and I were into almost all the same things. He became my brother. And because of my constant hangouts with him, I mostly slept over his house, his parents were one of the nicest people in the world, and my parents that time didn't even care where I would be. I also didn't have time to do drugs or drink or smoke or go to parties with my old friends since Mark and I spent the most time together.

"And then one day, he invited me to his church. He said they'd be great performances like singing, dancing, acting, and stuff. Although, I was never interested in that church stuff, I went because of him and because I knew my parents and friends would only make me feel uncomfortable if I wasn't with Mark."

Pastor James paused, and then he smiled longingly, "Oh, I remember it like it was yesterday. The pastor of that church began with the very verse that summed up my entire life during that time"--the screen showed the verse--"in Psalm thirty-four verse eighteen: The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." He sipped a water bottle and continued, "I remembered how much I was sobbing. It was exactly the comforting words I needed! Oh, how long have I waited for someone to tell me he's there for me. Of course, Mark was a great friend, but it was different and way more comforting hearing it from the Lord Himself through the pastor. And that was the very day I accepted Him as my personal Lord and Savior."

He spread his arms and grinned, "I found the real Way, Truth, and the Life. That is how real God is. You don't see Him, but He moves realer than anything you could ever imagine. His power is realer than anything in this world. God is greater than anyone or anything. And the Bible will always be the truth, because I've seen the world and I have never been so sure. God has shown me how real He is, in amazing and powerful ways. And He started it with my life. He used Mark to spread His Word. He used Mark to manifest his amazing love for me. 

"And He could do that to you too!"

Meredith smiled and looked at me. I smiled too.