And Just Where do You Think You're Going, Hmm? (Final installment in the "Check Yourself" Series)

"If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going."

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?"

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:3-6

It was a night when confusion reigned. With two thousand years of hindsight we are able to sit back at our leisure and witness the scenario that transpired in the upper room. We are able to carefully consider and meditate on what Jesus had to say to His disciples. We have His very words before our eyes in black and white.

It's easy to lose perspective and start wondering why the disciples didn't just "get it". But we have to put ourselves in their sandals. Something was coming down the pike, and they weren't sure what it was. Jesus was washing their feet, talking death and betrayal, telling them He was leaving them, then coming back, then leaving again, and introducing the concept of the Holy Spirit-- something they'd never heard of before. It was a lot to swallow in one evening.

That's why there's a special place in my heart for Thomas. I think he's misunderstood and has gotten a bad rap over the years. "Doubting Thomas," indeed. Do you think he's the only one who was confused? No way. He's just the only one who was humble enough to admit it, and brave enough to ask Jesus to explain.

When Jesus said, "you know the way where I am going," perhaps the other disciples knew what He meant, perhaps some of them thought they knew what He meant, and perhaps some of them just smiled and nodded, embarrassed to admit they had no idea what He meant. Thomas was clueless, but the possibility of embarrassment in front of his peers was nothing compared to the thought that He might miss where Jesus was going. This was a guy who wanted to make sure he got it right, because wherever Jesus went, he wanted to go too.

Are we like Thomas? Do we want to go where Jesus is going so badly that we're willing to cast aside our pride, or even our lives (John 11:16), to follow Him? Because, for the Christian, that's the answer to the question, "Where am I going?". I'm going wherever Jesus goes. Wherever He leads me, I'll follow Him. Whatever He has for me to do, I'll do it. I will relentlessly pursue Him, and Him alone.

Jesus is not just our destination, He's our journey as well.