“Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
Jesus was a loving Teacher, and because of that He did not sugar-coat His teachings. Always ready to encourage and forgive, He also spent a lot of time warning prospective disciples of the difficult life they would lead if they chose to follow Him.
At one such teaching moment, when many were overwhelmed by Jesus’ teaching and turned away from following Him, Jesus asked Peter if he would leave him too. Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
AMEN! How many times have we stumbled in our walk with the Lord, finding ourselves up against places and situations so difficult and painful that we wanted to throw in the towel and say, “I just can’t do this anymore”?
The question then becomes: Where else will we go? Jesus is the ONLY way to eternal life and relationship with the Father. Our choice is to continue following Him, regardless of the trials and hardships, or turn away from God entirely.
That’s really not a viable choice, is it? Like Peter, we must continue to press forward, clinging tightly to the hand of the One who goes before us, walks beside us, serves as our rearguard, lives within us, and surrounds us with songs of deliverance. Only He can bring us safely home, where the difficulties and disappointments of this temporal life will fade to invisible in the light of His Glory.
Don’t be discouraged, beloved. God is faithful, He has extended to us the words of eternal life…and there truly is nowhere else to go.
Kathi,
ReplyDeleteI remember years ago when a friend had gone through a very difficult and tragic time. She had questioned her faith at one point and later i asked how she was feeling about it. She said, "I came to realize that there are only two choices: believe and follow Him or walk away. I'm still just as devastated but know that I can't walk away. There is no hope in the other direction."
Thanks for your words.