The Words of Life - Day 134 Month 5-14 Week 20-1
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
Deuteronomy 21:1-22:12, Jeremiah 20:7-21:14, John 6:41-71
The Words of Life
To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (John 6:68). Peter’s famous words after Jesus asked the disciples if they want to leave as well. To be told the truth is not the same as knowing the truth.
Once you know the truth, there is no going back. I had been told stories from the Bible throughout my childhood and I was told “God is love.” and I was told that “Jesus died for me” so that I could live. I was told that, all the way through childhood. When I was 11 it became real to me and I knew this as truth. Now that I know it, it’s always there in the back of mind that I am part of God’s kingdom.
Jesus had just spoken to the Jews and also to many of His disciples (more than the 12). Jesus was metaphorically explaining that to live, they would need to eat His flesh and drink His blood. In that culture, just as today, cannibalism was disgusting and the people he was talking to could only understand what He was saying literally. The people did not understand the symbolism. For those who attend a Christian church, communion is representative of Jesus' body and blood that He gave up on the cross to satisfy the rightful judgement for sin in the whole world - a once for all transaction done by a perfect, unblemished and sinless being. Jesus knew there were some who were disciples that did not really believe in Him and with this difficult teaching some were confronted with their unbelief and did not continue to follow Him - they walked away. Jesus saw their hearts.
Acknowledging that Jesus/God exists is different from placing one’s trust and belief in Him and what He says. Acknowledging that God is real can be head knowledge but believing or having faith in Jesus is heart knowledge. Many of us Jesus followers have failed in reaching out to others because we have been so intent on getting people to become Jesus followers that we have pursued people to intellectually understand Jesus is the Son of God, and also God - called the Trinity. Christians have told people to say a prayer of commitment, sometimes called the “sinners prayer”, and then congratulate them on becoming a Christ follower. We have innocently forced the decision when some have not been ready.
John 6:44 quotes Jesus as saying “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws him in.” God, the father, initially prepares our hearts to hear Jesus’ message whether we know it at the time or not. We can try to convince someone to become a Jesus follower yet God has not prepared their heart to receive this good news. The evidence is in the new heart that God gives to people who decide to follow Jesus. If a person has truly been drawn by God to be a Jesus follower, you will see a change in that person. Sometimes it’s obvious and sometimes it’s more subtle, but there is an internal change. A person's outlook changes. You should see more evidence of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, (and) self control. (Galatians 5:22,23 NASB1995).” This will play out in the way they both love God (who knows everyone’s true heart condition whether believers or not) and love their neighbour but mostly be evidenced by us in the way they love their neighbour.
If God is drawing at your heart, listen to Him. He’s pointing you to Jesus.
Have a great day!
Steve
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