Only One.

ONLY ONE.  John 6.60-69

Oh sure, they were ‘all in’ when he was doing the miraculous . . . come on, do some more!  They were ‘all in’ when he was telling them about a kingdom which would have no end … they were sick of harsh Roman rule over them—time for Jewish rule!  They were ‘all in’ when they could accept what Jesus was teaching, but this part about ‘eating his flesh, drinking his blood’?  They scoffed and said, ‘how can Joseph the carpenter’s son, who we watched grow up, suddenly demand something of us?  Oy vey!   We heard he was born in Bethlehem during the time of the census, so how can he say he came from Heaven anyway?’

What had rankled them?  The followers now understood that to be a follower of jesus christ required two things: submit your life to him, and uphold his moral code.

John 6.60-69 - “Many of his disciples [not just the twelve, but the many followers who came after him] said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”

Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”

At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”

Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.” John 6.60-69

Recently, I made reference to high school students who counted the cost, and chose ‘the world’.  Allow me to be more specific:  the students who came to my house that fall day, came because they wanted to be campus leaders for Fellowship of Christian Athletes—to reach out to teammates, set a good example, pray for the school, plan and lead events, etc.  But following the discussion about our own need for a standard for purity, a young lady approached me after our meeting.  ‘So in order to be a part of the leadership team, does that mean I cannot have sex with my boyfriend or get drunk anymore?’  She asked her question with a tortured look on her face; she wanted to be part of that team!  Her best friend was there, and 13 others who she identified with, and wanted to belong to—but, she needed the validation that this scruffy boyfriend provided her more.  She had the sudden realization that to identify with Christ meant choosing a higher moral standard, and she just couldn’t commit to that.

Friends, that is an overt example of a choice made, but we make more subtle ones, by just putting our faith on the backburner—remaining silent when speaking up or speaking out was in order, compromising our values in perhaps not-so-noticeable ways. 

When parts of Christianity are hard to accept—like why homosexuality is not God’s way, or that God hates divorce, or that submission is part of God’s plan—well, we find a way around them.  OR we pick and choose, like Christianity and the Bible are a smorgasbord.  That is a popular way to go these days when ‘spirituality’ is so prevalent and biblical Christianity is seen as ‘old school’ and narrow-minded.  But hey, the cross was narrow-minded, wasn’t it? 

only one was perfect, yet suffered and died for us;           only one perfect Lamb is in Heaven, slain for us                                           only one is deserving of all of our praise and worship;                                         only one is deserving of our surrender to him and total devotion to him …           even if it means giving up a scruffy boyfriend.

Christine

PastorWoman.com