There is a powerful account in Scripture that has always gripped me. The full story is found in Numbers 16 and 17, but here is the heart of it.

Korah, along with 250 leaders of Israel, men of reputation, respected and influential, rose up to challenge Aaron’s God appointed priesthood. Their argument sounded reasonable on the surface: “All the congregation is holy. The Lord is among us too. Why then do Moses and Aaron exalt themselves above the people?”

But this was not merely a question of leadership. It was a challenge to God’s order.

To settle the matter once and for all, the Lord gave a simple yet profound test. Each tribe was to bring a rod, a staff representing their house, and the man whom God had chosen would be revealed unmistakably. His rod would blossom.

Think about that for a moment.

These rods were nothing more than dry, lifeless sticks, cut from trees and completely dead. Yet God declared that the one He chose would come alive, bursting forth with buds, blossoms, and fruit. Life from death. A divine signature no man could imitate.

So each leader brought his rod. Aaron brought his. They were laid before the Lord.

By the next morning, something extraordinary had happened.

Out of all the rods, only one had changed. Aaron’s rod had come to life. It budded, blossomed, and even produced almonds. In a single night, what was once dead wood became a living testimony.

And with that, the matter was settled.

God had spoken, not with words alone, but with life itself.

Many centuries later, mankind still questions God’s chosen. The Lord Jesus Christ, in obedience to the will of the Father, came down to bear the punishment of sinners and bring reconciliation through His sacrifice. Jesus declared in John 14:6 KJV, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

And the dissenting voices rise again. “How can Christ be the only way to the Father?” “All religions are just different paths to the same destination” “There are good people in every religion. Are they all wrong? “You’re just believing what you were raised to believe.” “We can do as good a job as Christ.” “I will take my chances. If I live a good life, that should be enough.” “You are arrogant to say He is the only way.”

As in centuries past, the Lord settles the matter the same way. It is simple.

“Bring your rods. Bring the Hindu rod, the Baptist rod, the Catholic rod, the Anglican rod, the Muslim rod, the Pentecostal rod, the Jehovah’s Witness rod, the LDS rod, the Christian Science rod, the rod of human reasoning. Bring them all, and bring Christ’s rod. Lay them down in the grave. The one I raise is the one I have chosen.”

And on that glorious morning, Christ’s rod budded. Christ’s rod budded!

Trace your heroes and you will find their graves still occupied. Those in whom men place their hope to reach the Father remain in the dust. The reason there is a Pope Leo XIV is because 13 other Pope Leos before him died and remained dead. Every system we cling to has leaders whose lives are marked by a beginning and an end on a tombstone. But Christ’s rod budded. Up from the grave He arose. Death could not hold Him.

The clock of life is ticking. One day, both hands of your clock will point to death. It will come, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. I once thought I had escaped death a few times. What a delusion. I cannot defeat death. I cannot outrun it. I cannot pray it away. I cannot outlive it by discipline or effort. Death has not yet come for me, because when it does, I will no longer be on this side of eternity. And when it comes for you, it will overcome you without effort.

But I have no fear of death, because it has lost its sting, which is sin (1 Corinthians 15:54–56). I have placed my trust in the One who died and rose again, the One who conquered death. Because of Him, I stand without condemnable sin. There is hope beyond the grave.

What, then, is your hope beyond death?

Religion will not save you. Only one rod budded. Only Christ conquered death. Only one way leads to the Father. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3–4 KJV). Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31 KJV). I urge you, I plead with you, abandon all hopes placed on religion, and cling to Christ, the one that budded.