Choices

John 6:66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

It was the lowest point in Christ's itinerant ministry. For three years, He had traveled up and down Galilee building up a great number of disciples and followers through His preaching, teaching, and healing. But now things were becoming gravely serious, and He was meddling in people's lives. He was becoming notorious to some of the authorities, and His preaching kept hitting raw nerves. On this particular occasion, Jesus called His followers' faith into question, suggesting that some of them did not believe in His ministry and mission.

And what was the effect? 'Many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.'
Christ and Christianity have a way of doing that. He still confronts us today, questioning our choices, demanding absolute allegiance, and challenging our ways. We all want hope and a Savior, but we find it difficult to accept the belief baggage and lifestyle lessons that come along with our faith.

The good thing is that not all the disciples left Him. It was left to that good old boy, Peter, to encourage Jesus for a change. When His Savior asks the Twelve, "Will you also go away?", the Big Fisherman gives the sweetest answer to Christ's ears. "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

Our faith journey isn't easy and sometimes we will be discouraged and deceitful, sinful and stupid, but we shouldn't despair by always looking at how our Christianity ends. We have a wonderful Savior and the promise of everlasting life. We have the opportunity to serve Jesus and to joyfully enter into His loving presence for ever. We may feel like going away at times, but His healing words will keep drawing us back to Him. And when all is said and done, isn't that why we placed our faith in Christ in the first place?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we were once lost souls, whose lives had no real meaning or purpose. In Your mysterious way, You drew us towards You and helped us to give our hearts to You. Sometimes, being a Christian is very difficult and we don't always get it right. We thank You for Your patience, Your forgiveness and grace. Without them, we would perish from the earth and have no hope. With them, we will delight in Your love for ever and ever, for You have the words of eternal life. In Your Holy name, we pray. Amen.