The Way Back to the Garden – John 14:1-7, Genesis 2

One question for God—
how can there be only one way?
It feels sharp,
a polarising claim,
as though doors are slammed shut
and other paths erased.

Fear asks it with trembling,
anger asks it with fire,
injustice asks it by way of challenge.
The disciples asked too.

We love choice—
rows of coffee beans,
different milks,
different temperatures.
Thirty percent of Gen Z
changing not just jobs but careers.
Our economy depends on preference,
but preference doesn’t always bring pleasure.
Sometimes what we need
is not choice but commitment.

Jesus said,
I am the way, the truth, the life.
Not a preference,
but a person.
A relationship,
not a philosophy.
The way is Him.

Revelation dreams of Eden restored,
a garden where God walks with his children
in the cool of day.
Genesis remembers that garden lost,
the trust fractured,
the serpent whispering,
Did God really say…?
We wanted the fruit
and the freedom,
a garden without a gardener.

We are still like that—
two-year-olds with our fists clenched,
adults with our lives clenched—
wanting heaven,
but without God in it.
A room in the Father’s house
without the Father.

But Jesus speaks differently:
A room is prepared,
an invitation is given.
The price is the prize—
a commitment to the One
who has already committed himself to us.

Exclusivity sounds harsh,
until we remember
that intimacy is always exclusive:
to know,
to depend,
to belong.

The way back to the garden
is not a path we clear ourselves,
not another preference to weigh.
It is a hand to hold,
a person to trust,
a Father walking with his children
in the cool of day.

Here is the invitation:
Jesus is not just the only way.
He is the best way.

Original message by Leon Chen, The Bridge Church Macquarie Park NSW
14 September 2025