Sacred Pathway

INTRODUCTION

Early Christians were referred to as “people of the Way”. Greek nomenclature “hodos” means a road or a path, a travelled road or path and by implication a journey. In John 14:5,6 (NIV), Jesus declares in response to Thomas statement and question, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus replies “I am the way and the truth and the life.”

According to Acts 9:1,2 (NIV) Saul, a zealous pharisee, was “uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So …he requested letters from the high priest to the synagogues in Damascus asking for their cooperation in the arrest of followers of the Way he found there.” Belonging to “the Way” meant suffering and persecution and perhaps death. Little wonder that Jesus said Mark 8:34 (NIV) “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Paul before the governor Felix admitted in Acts 24 that he had indeed become a follower of Jesus, a “follower of the Way” (:14 NIV) In a world still clamoring for us follow different paths, apparently the pathway we choose to follow will determine our destination.

Eldon’s birthdate in 1946 means that I was born during the first year attributed to the Boomer generation. My son, Marc, born in 1972 is an early Gen Xer. I was born in the mountain culture of Idaho but Marc was born in the culture of the plains of the Midwest. Marc and I experienced life from different contexts, friendships and cultural experiences. His education and mine are different, yet we have embraced the Way in our unique understandings of what it means to follow Jesus. Even though we both have experienced distinct life experiences, we are both followers of the Way but see the path through the lens of our generations and cultural influences and experiences. We welcome you to read the chapters noting how our expressions and chapters may differ in style and focus but hopefully they help you to embrace your understanding and commitment to join us on the pathway of a life following Jesus.