John 14:5-7 KJV
Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? [6] Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. [7] If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
What does it mean to go through Jesus? It means, that to get to heaven you must believe in Jesus. That is simple. What is complicated is trying to figure out what believing in Jesus means. In the above passage, Thomas isn’t even sure where Jesus is going, and still, Jesus says he knows the way. Jesus goes on to say he is “the way, the truth, and the life.” He teaches the disciples that to get to the Father they must go through Him.
So, what does it mean to go through Jesus? Simply, it means we must believe and confess that he is real and that he died to save us. That is all it takes to get to heaven. However, that is not all going through Jesus means. To go through Jesus we must also obey his teachings and example. Going through Jesus means practicing Jesus’ way of life. That does not mean we need to become Jewish. It means we must love and care for people in the way that Jesus did. How did Jesus love people? He loved people to the point of his own death.
Going through Jesus to get to the Father means loving other people more than you love yourself. Jesus gave the perfect example when he willingly died the horrific death of crucifixion. He did that because it was necessary to save humanity from an eternity without God. Jesus also believed in a literal hell. Thus, he gave himself up so we would not burn eternally. The way through Jesus is to believe in him and practice his love with obedience to his teachings.
Lord Jesus, teach me to believe so I may come to heaven. Please teach me to love others and to walk in obedience to you. I want to receive rewards to enjoy eternally, so please, teach me to obey. I welcome your correction, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.