John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Do we see the Way as a path to God? Walk the path we think will lead to God and we find ourselves on a narrow thread with both sides of our feet firmly planted in the world. Setting a course in the world to find God does not work.

Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Study all His teachings and do what He did as best we can. We will fail because trying to live Christ’s life is impossible for man. It is harder than keeping the law and we failed at that.

So what does it mean to live this life?

Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Living a life by faith is so much different than how we begin life. We have to learn what faith is before we can live by it. Is faith just belief? What does the Word say about how Jesus lived?

John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

I proved the first part true. I could do nothing right on my own. I need help.

2 Peter 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

Yesterday I witnessed to you my first change. My angry disappeared without any effort on my part whatsoever. My contemporaries would be right to judge me and say I had not changed. Anger is a responsive reflex condition. It was only one of many things within view of the life I lived. I still suffered from many of the personality traits of a lost soul.

Scoffers look at those who proclaim change of heart and declare, “You are no different than I am.” In their eyes it is true. What they fail to understand is that in the eyes of God He sees the Son whom He sent to be a sacrifice to ransom my soul. One change does not reflect a life lived for Christ. It is only a beginning.

Look at anyone who is standing still. Does one step tell you were they are headed? No, of course not. Neither does a word spoken necessarily reflect a heart that is newly changed. It is in the process of discovering what has changed. It is all new and the mind has not yet recognized these changes.

Growth in Christ takes time. Like babies just learning how to walk we will discover our feet are unsteady and we will trip from time to time. Others will see that and scoff at us and say, “See he is no different.” They are right from only one perspective. They cannot see our hearts or our intentions. They do not see the path before us that we only know by faith.

It is an early mistake to say I know where I am going. As new creations we are told; “Go to a place I will show you.” This was as God spoke to Abram. Knowing what we will have to encounter on the way will force an infant to make choices they are not mature enough to make.