Neatly pressed tablecloths rustled as we walked past them on the way to our table. Starched napkins stood at attention flanked by place settings arranged with perfect symmetry. The hostess smiled as she showed us to our seats and handed us menus. A wall of windows nearby gave us a perfect view of the pristine beach where the club’s lounge chairs and umbrellas were stationed in neat rows. Beyond them, the Pacific Ocean gleamed as the sun sank low on the horizon. Although I’d seen the exclusive beach club from a distance many times, I’d never had the privilege of stepping inside it before. I felt honored to be there.
At the time, I was in college and had been invited to a birthday dinner for a friend whose parents belonged to the club. Because of her, I’d been allowed access to all of the amenities enjoyed by the members. As her guest, the staff treated me warmly and attentively. I felt welcomed, included, and accepted, at least for the night. I knew full well that if I’d returned the next evening on my own, I wouldn’t have been allowed past the front door.
Have you ever had a glimpse into an exclusive place that you knew you couldn’t gain access to on your own? Ever known that your only way to get acceptance was riding on the coat tails of someone with more clout than you?
Well, if you know how that feels, then I have good news for you: God made it possible for you to gain access to the one place that is more exclusive than any other. It is a place reserved only for those who are perfect, holy and sinless. Anyone without these qualifications would simply be destroyed. Where is this place, you ask? It is in the presence of God for eternity.
Romans 5:8 explains our pitiful state and God’s solution to it: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And Jesus says it clearly in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Lysa TerKuerst explains, “There is an exclusivity to this phrase, similar to John 10:7-9 where Jesus refers to Himself as the Sheep Gate. Jesus doesn’t come to show a ‘better’ way. There is no other way. There is one way, and that way is simply and solely through Christ.” (Finding I Am, p. 124)
In our pluralistic society, saying there is only one way to connect with God is outlandish and even offensive to some people. The irony, however, is that God’s grace makes the Christian faith more inclusive than any other religion. God knew His standard of perfection could never be reached by sinful humans. No matter how “good” we try to be, we will never be good enough to “earn” a place in heaven. In human terms, this makes God’s “club” the most exclusive ever, with no one being allowed entrance. And yet, because of His desire to be in relationship with us, God made a way into His exclusive “club” through His Son, Jesus. For anyone seeking a direct relationship with God and hoping for eternal life in His presence, Jesus is the only conduit. All we have to do is admit we need Him to save us from our sins. This is God’s grace, His free gift to us. Anything “good” we do after we accept Christ is simply an expression of our gratitude, not an act done to earn God’s love or to rack up spiritual brownie points.
Thinking back to that night I was a guest at the beach club, I smile as I remember the name of the friend who took me there: Grace. Just as my relationship with her enabled me to experience the pleasure and privilege of her parents’ exclusive club, a relationship with Jesus enables us to receive the joy and honor of knowing His Father. This happens through God’s grace; His unmerited favor that we don’t deserve. Anyone that comes to God through His son receives grace, forgiveness of sins and acceptance into His family. He is indeed, the one true God who made a way to be inclusive despite His exclusivity.
The song “One True God” by Steven Curtis Chapman elaborates on this idea and uses some key phrases from Scripture to show Jesus as the one true path to salvation.
Lysa TerKeurst, Finding I Am: How Jesus Fully Satisfies the Cry of Your Heart, Lifeway Press, 2016 & 2017.
We’ll done!