Friday March 10, 2023
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,”
said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where–”
said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,”
said the Cat.
“–so long as I get somewhere,”
Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,”
said the Cat,
“if you only walk long enough.”
Those words are an exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat from Lewis Carroll’s famous Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland novel - words that led to a well-known quote attributed to George Harrison: “If you don't know where you are going, any road can take you there.”
A few questions arise from this exchange between Alice and the Cat: How can you pick a road when you don’t know where you want to get to? If all you care about is getting “somewhere”, then how will you know when you have arrived? As the Cat said, if it doesn’t matter where you end up, then it doesn’t matter which way you choose - if you only walk long enough, you will surely get there. But once you’ve arrived at that “somewhere”, will it be the place that you were hoping for?
You see, many many people walk through life like Alice in Wonderland: asking for the way to go, but not knowing and not caring where they want to get to, content with simply getting “somewhere” - and so they walk and they walk, but they never know when they’ve arrived, because they never had a clear end in mind.
That is why Jesus’ declaration - I AM THE WAY, AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE (John 14:6) - is so very important for us.
Because, as Jesus claimed, He Himself is both THE WAY and the “somewhere” we need to get to. He is the target, He is the goal - but He is also the road there.
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11-12)
Because, as Jesus claimed, He Himself is THE TRUTH: not “a” truth or “one of many” truths - and not relative or subjective truth. But “the” TRUTH: the one and only essence of absolute rightness and correctness. His words and His ways are our end, and our means to that end.
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)
Because, as Jesus claimed, He Himself is THE LIFE: only He is abundant life here on earth, and eternal life in heaven.
“… I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24)
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” Alice asked the Cat.
The Cat’s answer was logical, but not valuable.
The best and most beneficial answer is: the “way” is JESUS. And when you take Him, you will not walk and walk and then just get “somewhere”. Along the way, and then when you finally arrive at your destination, you will discover that you have gotten everything that you ever needed and wanted and hoped for in Him.
