The-Way

Throughout what I have written—and what will be written—there is a unique and powerful message of love and choices: the choice of either Joy or Darkness.

In these pages, you see the separation of the goats and the sheep of this world; you see those looking in from the outside and those looking out from within. You will also discover the unloved of this world—the unseen and the forgotten. From the tax collectors to the prostitutes, and those lost by their own actions, all of these people have one thing in common: their private faith.

It is their secret strength—the willingness to say “Yes” to Christ Jesus and to experience the love and joy of entering His kingdom.

The First Covenants

The journey begins with Eve. Though history often cloaks her in shame, she was the first to enter a covenant with God—a promise that a Savior would one day crush the darkness.

This thread of hope was carried by the “unloved” and the “forgotten”:

Hagar: The outsider who was the first human to ever name God El Roi—”The God Who Sees Me.” Although not in the physical lineage of Christ, her story is the definitive proof that The Way is for the outcast, the unseen, and the ones abandoned by man. In her moment of total obscure despair, she discovered a “private faith” that sustained her simply because she knew God noticed her existence.

The Two Foundations: Leah and Rachel

While they were bound by the same deception, God used each sister to build a different part of “The Way”:

• Rachel’s Path (Salvation): Through her long season of barrenness, Joseph was born. He was the “path-clearer” who went ahead into Egypt to save the family from physical starvation.

• Leah’s Path (The Lineage): Though she felt unloved and “unseen” by man, Leah was the one chosen to carry the royal and messianic line. It was through her son Judah that the promise of the King was passed down.

This thread continued through Tamar, another woman of “private faith” who risked everything to ensure the lineage of Judah did not fail. Without Leah’s endurance and Tamar’s courage, the path to the Lion of Judah—and eventually to Christ—may never have been saved in a way that made sense to God.“

The Scars of the Ancestry

God’s lineage wasn’t built on “perfect” reputations; it was woven together by those the world tried to dismiss.

• Ruth: A foreigner and a widow who stood by her mother-in-law in poverty and shame. Her private faith transformed her from an outsider into the ancestor of a King.

• Bathsheba: Her life was shattered by the choices of others, yet she endured the grief of her first child to eventually see the birth of Solomon. She shows us that redemption can bloom even in the ruins of a broken heart.

The Path Clearers

As the shadows of the past fade, we find the fulfillment of the promise:

• Elizabeth: Carrying the legacy of Sarah and Rebekah, her “barren” years prepared the way for John, the one who would clear the ultimate path.

• Mary: The “New Eve” who gave the final, perfect “Yes” to bring the King into the world.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem with no fanfare—only the Magi and shepherds to greet Him. By placing Jesus in Nazareth, God kept Him hidden from the world, shielded in obscurity until the path was cleared.

The Vision of the Heart: A Call to Action

As you walk your own path, I invite you to look closer. We often walk right past the “unseen” in our world—the lonely, the overlooked, and those carrying heavy burdens. But I also invite you to look inward.

What parts of your own heart have you labeled as “barren” or “unloved”? What “private faith” are you hiding because you feel it isn’t “perfect” enough? God does not look for the loud and the proud; He looks for the “Yes” in the quiet corners of your soul.

A Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, El Roi—the God who sees us—we thank You that Your Kingdom is built by the forgotten and the faithful. We thank You for the “Yes” of Eve, the loyalty of Ruth, and the courage of Mary. Give us the eyes to see the unseen neighbors in our lives and the grace to forgive the scars in our own hearts. Help us to walk “The Way” of Christ with a private faith that bears the public fruit of Your Joy. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.

Conclusion: The God Who Meets Us

The Parables of Joy serve as a timeless reminder that no matter how hidden we feel—whether we are tucked away in a “Nazareth” of our own making or enduring a long season of “barrenness”—we are never forgotten.

As revealed in the Gospel of Luke, our God is the one who leaves the ninety-nine to find the Lost Sheep, the one who lights a lamp to sweep the house for the Lost Coin, and the Father who runs down the road to embrace the Prodigal Son. These stories prove that the Creator of the universe meets us exactly where we are, in the middle of our mess and our obscurity.

The path has been cleared. The invitation is open. It does not require perfection or a public stage; it only requires the secret strength to say “Yes” to the God who is already looking for you.

Tomas

The-Way.blog

Resources & References

Primary Texts and Historical Sources

• The Holy Bible: Primarily utilizing the Pentateuch (Genesis 3, 16, 21, 29-30) for the foundations of the “First Covenant” and the lives of the Matriarchs.

• The Book of Jasher (Sefer HaYashar): Chapters 28-29. This midrashic text provides an expanded narrative of Leah and Rachel as twins and the specific emotional weight of the wedding-night deception.

• The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55): The primary New Testament resource for the “Joy” of the unseen being elevated.

Scholarly Footnotes

1. On the term “The Way”: Historically, hodos (The Way) was the earliest self-designation for the followers of Jesus before the term “Christian” was adopted in Antioch (Acts 9:2; 11:26). It implies a lived practice rather than a static dogma.

2. El Roi (The God Who Sees): (Update) … The placement of Hagar as a recipient of a direct naming experience, despite being outside the eventual lineage of the Messiah, serves as a canonical statement that God’s redemptive sight extends beyond national boundaries and social standing.

3. The Lineage of Obscurity: The inclusion of five women in the genealogy of Matthew 1—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba (the “wife of Uriah”), and Mary—is a deliberate theological statement by the author to show that “The Way” is built through social outcasts and those touched by “scars.”

4. The Nazareth Obscurity: The question “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46) reflects the historical insignificance of the town. Scholarly archaeology suggests it was a small hamlet, reinforcing the theme of the King remaining “hidden” to protect the lineage.

5. Barrenness as Preparation: In Ancient Near Eastern culture, barrenness was a social “death.” The biblical pattern of the “Barren Mother” (Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Elizabeth) serves as a literary and spiritual motif for God’s ability to bring life from places the world has deemed empty.

6. The Lion of Judah: The blessing of the scepter (Genesis 49:10) was given to Judah, the fourth son of Leah. This marks a significant theological shift, in which the “unloved” wife becomes the mother of the royal line, proving that God’s choice often bypasses human preference to highlight His grace.

7. The Tamar Link: The narrative of Tamar (Genesis 38) is essential to “The Way.” By including her in the lineage (Matthew 1:3), the text confirms that the “scars of the ancestry” are vital components of the redemption story, linking Leah’s offspring directly to the Messiah’s eventual birth.

8. The Triad of the Lost: The parables in Luke 15 (Sheep, Coin, Son) are unique in that they highlight the “Joy in Heaven” over a single person who returns. This mirrors the “Private Faith” theme: the world may not notice the coin or the sheep, but the Owner and the Shepherd value them above all else.