Cycles

I was thinking about where Jesus says I'm the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Life comes from God. We turn back towards Him as we learn the truth about ourselves. And Jesus shows us that truth.

Most of us find the Way when we've reached a low point. When you realize that you can't do it, it makes one more willing to accept help. And He tells us a truth about ourselves, our sin, and who we are. Truth is rarely comfortable. Sometimes, it's even downright painful. But accepting the truth helps us grow. And growth means life.

With my preference for lists, I first thought of this as a sequence. You know, step 1, step 2, step 3. I'm not so sure that's right. It's more of a cycle. Different people come into the cycle at different places. Some people face a Truth. Others come looking for Life. And some come to the Way first.

I once read a comparison of a death spiral and a flywheel. The death spiral occurs when a plane spins out of control. When the spin first starts, there is a chance of recovery. At some point, it builds past the point of no return. Hence the name.

A flywheel is a heavy wheel. It takes a lot of energy to get it started. But once it's going, it only takes small pushes to keep it spinning. This particular author made the point that these are both cycles. One cycle is, well, deadly. The other is useful. You want the useful cycle, if that wasn't obvious.

That's why I talked about the Way, the Truth, the Life as a cycle. Jesus was telling us the positive cycle. Where you start doesn't matter. Getting it going does. We were designed to live our lives in cycles. Day and night. Summer, autumn, winter, and spring. Businesses go through cycles. Families go through cycles. Cycles use the familiar to bring us the unfamiliar. A little bit of what we know helps us face new things that we don't know.

We grow over time. Cycles become familiar. And we introduce new elements to keep it alive, fresh, and rewarding. Growth. Being more tomorrow than we are today. Now that's a life worth living.