What Is The Right Path?

What is the right path to take- is a question most of us have asked ourselves at some point in life. If we are Christian, we may have asked the Lord to clearly mark out the best choice. If we were purposeful in bible study and waited patiently for God to answer, I’d venture to guess many of us can say we received direction from the Lord for at least one important decision.

This is what Jesus came to earth for, to show us the path to take so that we can live abundantly in our purpose, not wasting precious time backtracking from poor choices.

” I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”(John 10:9-10)

If we break down this verse of Scripture, looking at the Greek translation to clarify the meaning, it will enhance our understanding.

Let’s start at the beginning of the verse:

I am the “gate” θύρα (thyra) is translated as an opportunity or an entrance point.

Whoever enters “through” δι’ (di’) means the channel of an act

“Will be saved” σωθήσεται (sōthēsetai) which means healed, preserved and rescued.

They will “come in and go out”ἐξελεύσεται (exeleusetai) continuous repetition, which we can surmise is a continual learning from the the Lord through frequent study.

and find “pasture”νομὴν (nomēn) is translated as feeding or growth. “Feeding” on the Word of God we will grow in knowledge and wisdom of His ways.

The thief comes to “kill” θύσῃ (thysē) translated as sacrifice- if we follow Satan’s ways something will always need to be sacrificed in our life.

I have come so that they “may have” ἔχωσιν (echōsin) to possess or to hold

life and have it “in all it’s fullness” περισσὸν (perisson) superabundant, superior, excessive.

The verse breakdown in the Greek is interesting to me. When we accept Jesus’ invitation to believe in Him and follow Him, we enter into all that He has for us- and according to this verse of Scripture- it is superior to the life we create. Not only that, we won’t have to sacrifice anything to receive the abundant life, God will provide, as we stay “in Christ.”

This verse in John chapter 10 depicts movement on our part.

After we accept Jesus as our Savior we must “come in and go out”. This means to come near Him through Bible study/prayer in order learn from Him and understand where He is leading us. Then we leave our time of study and go out into the world and do what we have learned.

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.”( James 1:22-25)

The Promised Blessings Of God

There are thousands of promised blessings God has made to us and they are found in both the Old and New Testaments. Some promises are for all people, like the invitation to enter Jesus’ gate and receive life. Other promises are conditional, for instance in the verse above, states we will be blessed for doing God’s will.

Another conditional blessing is when we advance from belief in God the Father to acceptance of His son Jesus as our personal Savior- this is the point that we receive the Holy Spirit.

“And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”(Eph 1:13b-14)

Belief in God the Father is not enough, in fact, the Bible teaches us that even demons believe in God.

“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”(James 2:19)

Believing in Jesus as the gate to the Father will allow the the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. The Holy Spirit will empower us walk in the ways of Jesus in order to receive blessings. But we can quench the Holy Spirit by choosing to go against the Holy Spirit’s leading and thus we will miss out on blessings.

“Do not quench the Spirit.” (1 Thess 5:19)

“Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”(John 14:23)

The choice to accept Jesus and start to live out Jesus’ teachings is a choice to be born spiritually. We are physically born through our mothers into a sinful world with a variety of choices and ideas of right and wrong. When we choose to be born again (born of the spirit) we choose only one path- the path through the gate of Jesus. The Old Testament states that choosing God’s way is truly a choice between life and death. That remains true in the New Testament as well. The way to God is through the gate of accepting Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for our sins and receiving the Holy Spirit as our guide. Following this guidance will yield blessings because God can’t lead us anywhere but towards the abundant life!

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!”(Deuteronomy 30:19)

Food For Thought,

Lisa