May 11, 2026 Devo

I saw a documentary some years ago that was really disturbing.  It was an Eastern religious group that had a very unusual ritual/celebration.  They paraded from the center of their village to a temple in honor of their god.  But the parade was one of self-mutilation and pain.  Some cut themselves as they walked.  Some walked through glass, shredding their feet.  Some were crawling, leaving their knees and feet bleeding.  The most startling were those who had hooks in their backs pulling carts.  All of them were hoping to gain favor, forgiveness, or right standing with their god by punishing themselves in the pilgrimage.
As I watched, I felt horribly sorry for them.  All that pain.  All that sacrifice.  All that suffering.  And all for a god that doesn’t exist.  They didn’t find favor.  They didn’t find forgiveness.  They didn’t find peace, wholeness, healing, or satisfaction.  They only found pain.  They didn’t have to suffer at all to find what they were looking for.  They only had to recognize and receive the truth that God had actually done all of the suffering for them!
What God declared in our passage today, Jesus declared in John 14.  “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through me!”  People have often said that to believe Jesus is the only way to salvation or heaven is being exclusive.  But one, since God is the Only True God, He can determine whatever path He wants as the right one.  That’s one of the perks of being “God!”  
And two, God wasn’t trying to be exclusive.  He was trying to be CLEAR.  God didn’t want to leave any doubt about how to connect with Him.  He didn’t want people out there just floundering away like this group I watched trying to figure out how to be “right with God.”  God didn’t want people to go through the frustration and emptiness of religious hoops and hurdles only to end up exhausted and unfulfilled.  So God sent His One and Only Son that people might not only find forgiveness and freedom, but that they might also enter into an exciting, eternity-lasting relationship with Him.
So if you’re wondering if there is a God, there is. But there is Only One.  There is no other.  And that God loves you more than you can possibly imagine.  You don’t have to punish yourself for Him.  He came to show His love by dying for YOU!  Open your heart. Accept the love and grace He so freely offers you today.  His salvation is not a prize you have to earn.  It’s a gift you only have to receive.  There is only One God and One Way to be right with Him.  And it’s “No Pain, All Gain!”  That’s God’s Word for you today.