Afterwords -- no other
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69)
"...that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other." (Isaiah 45:6)
September 29, 2023
Dear friends,
In John chapter 6, we read that many people were seeing the miraculous signs Jesus was doing and were following him enthusiastically. They even wanted to make him king (v 15)! Yet, by the end of the chapter, very few followers remained. The twelve disciples stay, but most of the crowd found his teaching too hard and no longer walked with him (v 60, 66). This, I think, is the same dynamic that Jesus taught in the parable of the Sower and the soils --
"And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while. Then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away." (Mark 4:16-17)
Their reasons are evident -- They were more interested in the material and temporal benefits of following Jesus than the spiritual, eternal blessings (v 26-27). They were looking for continued (or greater) signs and miracles as condition for their ongoing faith (v 30). They were not impressed with the ordinariness of his family background (v 42). In short, their trust was not in Christ himself but in what they thought he should provide for them -- perks, power, and prestige.
Through the years I've encountered professing Christians who stopped following the Lord for similar reasons. The statements (spoken or unspoken) were like, "I never signed up for this," or "It shouldn't be this hard," or "I don't think that Jesus the only way to God," or "what's he done for me lately?" There's disappointment, disillusionment. Their expectations for the Christian life were not met.
Jesus does not fret over this kind of situation. His answer to us is that those who believe, truly and enduringly, have in reality been drawn by the Father (v 44-45, 65; cf Matt 11:25-27). This is what is meant by "being taught by God" (v 45; cf Matt 16:17). To those people, the gospel call comes with life-giving effect (v 63), and their coming to Jesus has been granted by the Father (v 65).
Such believers follow the Lord not primarily because of temporal benefits in this world, or because of the ease and blessing of being a believer, or because following Jesus gives them social prestige, or because his teaching is always acceptable to them, but they can say along with the disciples, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life..." They know that there is no other one to whom they can turn. There is forgiveness nowhere else, no life in any other place, no other way to God, and no eternal hope without Jesus. They know the life-giving power of his word. Simply, there is Jesus and there is no other. What they have seen of Christ is not something they dreamed up, but it has been given to them by the Father.
We who believe in Jesus should ask ourselves from time to time, why we are following him. What are we expecting from this venture? What is the focus of our trust? Are there any deal-breakers? Perhaps this is part of what is meant in the parable, "to have root in themselves". So, we should ask,
-- Am I following Jesus for what I can get out of him for this life, for material well-being and prosperity? If so, my trust is not in Jesus himself, but in my own gratification and comfort.
-- Am I offended by the difficult teachings of Jesus, or from any other Scripture, so that I turn away and stop walking with Jesus? If so, my faith is in my own limited understanding and in my desire for an easier and more agreeable life.
-- Am I looking for more miracles than God chooses to give, or am I saying things like, what has he done for me lately? If so, my faith is in displays of power, and in what I can see today, not in who Jesus is in himself, and in what he has done for my eternal salvation.
-- Am I offended by the humble means God uses for our salvation -- including our families, fellow Christians, and churches -- which may be unimpressive and displeasing to us, so that we do not want to associate with God's people? If so, my faith is not in Jesus but in things which look impressive and prestigious.
-- Am I reserving any other options for myself or others, about the uniqueness of Jesus, as if he were not the only Way (John 14:6; Acts 4:12)? If so, I do not see Jesus as the gospel presents him -- "...there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
Now, if we find ourselves with such misplaced faith, this should not cause us to despair. Rather, we should go immediately to God, who is kind and gracious, who sent his Son for sinners such as we are, and we can ask him to enable us to see Jesus for who he is and in all that he has done, so that our faith would be well-placed in his Son.
The Bible teaches that we must continue walking with Christ, but we must realize that it is God who enables us both to come and to persevere in faith, that we are being "guarded through faith," as it says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)
PRAYING FOR OUR CHILDREN (and grandchildren). Jan Lu and I are praying these "31 Biblical Virtues" (compiled by Bob Hostetler) for our family. This has given us some focus on what to pray for our children and grandchildren. Why not pray one of these each day for your family? Here are the first seven:
1) Salvation -- "Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory" (Isaiah 45:8, 2 Timothy 2:10).
2) Growth in grace -- "I pray that they may 'grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ'" (2 Peter 3:18).
3) Love -- "Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to 'live a life of love,' through the Spirit who dwells in them" (Ephesians 5:2, Galatians 5:22).
4) Honesty and integrity -- "May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection" (Psalm 25:21, NLT).
5) Self-control -- "Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be 'alert and self-controlled' in all they do" (1 Thessalonians 5:6).
6) A love for God's Word -- "May my children grow to find your Word 'more precious than gold, than much pure gold; [and] sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb'" (Psalm 19:10).
7) Justice " God, help my children to love justice as you do and to 'act justly' in all they do" (Psalm 11:7, Micah 6:8).
Here's all 31 virtues to pray.
IN OTHER NEWS.
-- What I'm currently reading: Phantastes, by George MacDonald, and Pascal's Pensées.
-- It's National Coffee Day. (I wonder how I will celebrate it?)
-- "Cluster B psychological traits have begun to shape the patterns and structures of our culture." (Christopher Rufo)
-- We're enjoying the song, "The Goodness of God," here sung by Caleb and Kelsey.
-- The vintage pen I am writing with this week is a Parker 25 (flighter, Mark II, pictured below) manufactured in England from 1975 to 1980.
FINAL QUOTE. "There are two kinds of people one can call reasonable; those who serve God with all their heart because they know Him, and those who seek Him with all their heart because they do not know Him." (Pascal, Pensées 194)
That's it for this week!
Sandy
Image credit: photo above by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
