7, 8, and then 9

"I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one can reach the father except through me."

The Way - General principles of behavior and attitude that apply to everyone, for example a path through mountains, valleys, swamps, and other treacherous terrain that everyone goes through together to get somewhere. To leave The Way is venturing into chaos, confusion, and aimless wandering. Everyone who wants to get there must stay on The Way and keep moving forward.

The Truth - The deeper meaning and reason for the rules of behavior and attitude. Understanding of the big picture of eternal truths, but still as they apply to everyone. Like marble pillars, a solid and unchanging foundation that is perfect rigid order. The Way becomes The Truth and is no longer just blind obedience and following orders, but there is joy in pondering the mystery of things that matter and have great significance. Now the truth of mankind's present situation is seen and the rules of behavior are followed not just by respectful obedience but by a sense of urgency and present realities.

The Life - Eternal truth as it should be worked out specifically in one person's individual life details. Overflowing with creativity and surprises. Full of color and life, The Truth is no longer cold and rigid like marble pillars that never move, when living in someone to a full extent, The Truth becomes The Life and is always new and alive. Now The Truth is not become something to be held onto with a cold grip and defended with a savage battle cry of "Hold the Fort". It is a living and outstretched hand which offers mercy and creative power to a starving world's heart.

Each day is a new day that the Lord has made and is full of curiousity to learn more and more, and a hunger for greater ways that The Life can be expressed. The knowledge that there is always more to know and greater things ahead for that single person makes them relentless in study and prayer. The Truth is no longer something to read about and know from the past or in wispy terms of a heaven far off someday, it is something to be worked with day by day.

I came that they might have Life, and have it more abundantly. He has set eternity itself in the hearts of men, and the hunger within seeks not Ways to act only, or Truth to gaze upon, but Life which fills all parts of life with great meaning and true joy in this day today. Meaning and Joy not through following the demands of earthly mentors like a slave who doesn't know his master's business. Not just in truths that are beautiful and tell about how the world is and what's going on. But what is my part in all that large truth, and what does my life mean in terms of the plans that God dreams for everyone? Not just in a few actions that everyone must take part in like an army of faceless dolls that can be easily replaced, but something that speaks only to me personally and my individual heart and wondrous, impossible design that God placed in me and longs to get out in the way that only I could show it.

The Way = 7 = Unchanging Tradition The Truth = 8 = Eternal Perfection The Life = 9 = Always Alive

Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you did not know.

In reading a story, we do not simply read about someone doing nice things that everyone is supposed to do. We do not read a story about someone who learns about great truths and refuses to forget them. No, we read about someone who has actions that matter, to say the least, and is engaged in all of life with great urgency and yearning. This is not a work of fiction but a blueprint for what God will do with those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Not just a cold righteousness of trying to avoid evil but who hunger and thirst for new and unexpected things of God that will shock and convict the world by their expressions of his compassion and beauty.

There are great and mighty things waiting for each of us. To think that our actions don't matter that much only means that we are asleep at the wheel. Even holding on to the knowledge of impossibilty and what things God will show us that we can't even speculate about yet is a very important and powerful action and is certainly not useless.

Those who are faithful in very small matters will be put over very great matters. Know that great and mighty things you do not know are sitting and waiting for you right now. They are things that you may have hoped and thought of far off within your heart, things for yourself and all the world. They are already there, collecting dust perhaps on a shelf. You can't possibly find such things by following the generic advice of the world's faceless systems.

The sacred promise is that all who call to him will absolutely be answered and shown what their heart has cried out for for so long, even though they may not have words to cry with. Because of this, we can be confident and immovable in calling out to him.

The eyes of the Lord search to and fro looking everywhere for anyone that he can possibly show himself strong to.

God is looking only for someone who he can show himself strong to. It doesn't matter what the situation of life that person is in, or how much they have messed things up, or what kind of person they have become, if only they have chosen to have a heart that he can show himself strong to then he swears he WILL do it and all the mistakes and circumstances mean literally nothing, as long as they will hold for dear life to their hunger for righteousness they will be filled, and nothing in heaven or earth can stop it. Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart, and someone can always choose to have a heart he can work with. They can always choose to have hope. The greatest lie someone can believe is that they don't have a choice anymore. They always have a choice and a bright path to victory, even though it might look like they are trapped in iron walls. The choice is ultimately within them, not in trying to cleverly manipulate the nonsense that the world throws at everyone.