“…I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never die…” John 11:25-26a

 

Is this all there is? If it’s not, how do we get to wherever we go after this life?

Whether it’s the called afterlife, the fairy world, the underground world or the dream world, humans have told stories about it and looked for doors to it through the ages. In the stories we’ve told, a temple door, a garden gate or a cave would lead to what’s coming next. Some cultures, like the ancient Egyptians, spent all of life in serious preparation for the next one.

Anna is a follower of Jesus. One evening she sat in her kitchen chatting with her Jewish friend, Shira. She was a bit caught off guard when Shira suddenly asked her, “Do I have to believe in Jesus to go to heaven?” Anna took a breath. “Well,” she said thoughtfully, “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me’ so, yes, it’s what He said” (John 14:6).

Jesus made that statement just after telling His followers that He was going to His Father’s home. He told them that He would go ahead of them and prepare places for them. One of His disciples said, “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” That’s when Jesus answered clearly, definitively, “I am the way…no one can come except through me.” Later He would say, “…I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying” (John 11:25).

Jesus effectively claimed, I am the door to the eternal world. “God, or a liar?” is the question Pascal is credited with posing, “This is every man’s wager.” How have you placed your bet?