Is John 14:6 an exclusive statement or an invitation to engage in the world?

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

Is this an exclusive statement? Or, is this a metaphorical statement that asks people to follow the way he lived discerning God’s will, the truth he testified, and the life he exemplified teaching God’s word? Those who follow Jesus may experience the love of God, and then they are truly disciples of Jesus. Likewise, the Johannine community is given a new mission of love for the world. As Jesus was sent by God for that purpose, now this community is also given the same mission. In John 17 when Jesus prepares his departure to God, he prays to God and sends his disciples into the world to do this job. The implication: John’s gospel is not a triumphant gospel but an invitation to love and engage in the world. Pilate asked Jesus: ”So you are a king?” Jesus answered: “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice” (18:37). TRUTH is “the truth of God” … which is God’s love of the world and people. Jesus came for the truth of God, and testified to it, and transformed the world.