To whom shall we go?

John Chapter 6, Verses 66-71: “66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you also want to go away?’ 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ 70 Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?’ 71 He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

Jesus said some hard things for people to understand and believe. Many chose to walk away from Him. They found His call to devotion too strong or too hard. However, He turned to the Apostles, the twelve that He walked with and spent time everyday teaching and ministering with, and asked them, "Do you also want to go away?” Peter looked back at Jesus and said NO! In fact, Peter and the Apostles knew there was no one else to turn too. Jesus had the answers to life, both physical and spiritual. Jesus was the only way, these twelve men knew it, and joyfully followed. Their answer was, “to whom shall we go?” We know you are the Christ; this is where we need to be.

Jesus does call us to live a hard life. The life of a disciple is that of contrast to what the world says is ok. We are asked to walk our life by faith and not by sight. Jesus said that a follower of His would be persecuted for his faith. We are to live a life of simplicity, for the more “stuff” we have the less of Him we are able to fit in. We are to reach out to the poor and homeless, and do the hard things in this world. Mother Teresa was a woman who walked by faith. Because of her relationship with Jesus, she reached out to the poor of Calcutta, and touched the leprous hands of another person and brought relief to many. The Christian history is filled with people just like her who did not make themselves first place.

For the Christ follower we should say like Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” There is no one else to bring us to eternal life, no other path, all roads do not lead to heaven. Only through Jesus can we reach heaven. We have only to choose Jesus, or reject Jesus. When we choose Him, He becomes our life. We become consumed with the passion that was in His heart. Suddenly our “want to[s]” begin to change. There is no other life for us; why? Because, “we have come to believe and know that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God”. This Christian life is not easy, nor is it effortless. It takes discipline and commitment to be a Christ follower, but He is the Christ, to whom shall we go?

Tomorrows Readings:
Old Testament: 11 Kings 23-25 New Testament John 7:1-31