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There is only one way to heaven, "I am the way;" but there are many ways to Christ. One soul is led earlier, another later; one gradually, another by storm; one by sorrow, another through joy; one by inner impulse, another by external influence. Here we learn —

1. To adore the wisdom of God. Like a prudent gardener He deals with each of His plants according to its kind. One needs the sun, another the shade; one must be kept moist, another dry; one requires rich soil, another poor; one must be pruned, another supported; one needs tender handling, another will grow in any wind or weather.

2. To regard God's world with such big-hearted, patient love, that we no longer measure our neighbour by our own standard.

3. To learn to know ourselves. The lives of other children of God ought to be a mirror to us, and from them we can choose to suit our own particular aspiration, some favourite character by whose example we may be strengthened and edified. Here we have three ways to God.

I. THE WAY THROUGH THE PREACHED WORD.

1. "Behold the Lamb," etc., is the heart of the Christian sermon. That is the aim of the whole Bible: Moses, the prophets, John, and the apostles. No matter the particular subject, this is the true end.

(1) If we preach on the holiness and love of God, behold them here.

(2) If about your duty, behold here meekness, gentleness, innocence, and obedience.

(3) If reproof for sin, behold here the effect of sin and what is necessary for its removal.

(4) If consolation, behold here its source.

(5) If heaven, behold here its central glory.

2. The two disciples heard.

(1) We often come short in the listening — work, and pleasure are preferred.

(2) Those who listen, do they really hear?

(3) Those who hear, do they "follow?" Following Jesus is the true end of hearing. For this purpose the Baptist willingly let them depart. You are to become converts, not to any human preacher, but to Christ.

II. THE WAY THROUGH EXAMPLE which Peter took. Andrew cannot keep the blessed discovery to himself, and he could not have performed for his brother a nobler service, nor presented to Christ a nobler tribute of his love. What a lesson for —

1. Preachers.

2. Parents.

3. Brothers.

III. THE WAY OF EXPERIENCE. They all took this way, but it was in a special sense the way Nathanael took.

1. It is necessary that you come to the Lord personally and become acquainted with Him through your own experience to put to the proof what you have heard or read. Practice makes perfect; experience makes the Christian.

2. Whom will you find? A soul friend rich in love, who looks on your soul as a thing of value; one who has a profound insight into your heart; one who can supply all your need.

3. Receive Him —

(1) for His own sake.

(2) For the sake of the revelations He makes and for the rewards He bestows.

(K. Gerok, D. D.)

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KJV: Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;

WEB: Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples,