Recently, a hostess known for her hospitality invited a number of people to her home for dinner and music afterwards. Some of the people had been to her house before, but there had been a lot of construction in the city, so she wrote out directions for the easiest and quickest way to arrive safely. She made copies so everyone could take one.
Some people took the paper, but some said they did not need directions because they had a GPS. Now a GPS is quite a handy thing to have, but it isn’t always right. If roads are closed due to construction, the GPS is not right anymore. The GPS can adapt and help the person find another way, but it will take longer than first expected.
This reminds us of the way, the only way to get to heaven. The directions are already written down in the Bible, and there is only one way. There will be no getting there by a different, or even longer, way that we can decide to try. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)).
When it was time for dinner to be served, everyone who planned to come to her house had arrived, but several were heard to say, “I’d have been here sooner, but my GPS took me to where there was no exit!” Yes, she wondered if that might happen. That is why she had written out the best way to come. They trusted their own way, their GPS, rather than the one who knew!
To get to heaven, there are not two or more ways to arrive. Nothing we can do will get us there. Not by doing the best we can, nor by going to church regularly, nor by doing good deeds to outweigh the bad things we have done. “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name, under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:1212Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)).
We like to think that we already know the best way to get someplace and that we can decide for ourselves which way to go. But, when it comes to getting to heaven, our sins must first be taken care of, and only the Lord Jesus, who never sinned, can do that. He died on the cross for your sins, if you’ll accept Him as your Saviour. There is nothing you can do in your own strength or power to pay the penalty for your sins. “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:88But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)).