Our deepest needs–security, belonging and significance–can only be properly met by God. But if we agree with this statement we still have no way to come to God. To do so requires that we have some way of interfacing with the divine. As it turns out, Jesus is the way to God, our interface between the earthly and the divine.

It’s wonderful news that God has freely extended his grace to everyone. He’s not looking to gather a collection of the spiritual elite. All of us are welcomed by God’s gracious hospitality. And yet, we can’t come to God on our own terms but on his. Jesus says that no one comes to the Father except through him. This means that while Jesus freely offers us a place in God’s house, we come in on his rules. We can’t get in with our own customized spirituality, nor can we come in with a watered-down gospel that makes no demands of us. God’s grace saves us, but it also transforms us into people who are like Jesus. If we seriously believe that Jesus is the way to God, then we have to acknowledge that he sets the terms for our entry into God’s kingdom.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. What do you see as the basic needs that all people have? How does Jesus meet those needs? Why do we try to meet them with other things?
2. What makes people pursue Spirituality on their terms? How can we behave in a way that our lives invites them into Spirituality that is grounded in Lordship of Jesus?
3. Why does Jesus’ grace require us to change? What would God’s kingdom look like with people who didn’t allow Jesus to change them?