John 6:67 “Will ye
also go away?”
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of
comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
In the beginning, great multitudes followed Jesus, willingly going
from one place to another. And why not? He spoke eloquently to them,
He healed their sick and lame, and He spoke with authority. However,
it wasn’t any of those things that attracted the people to Him. What
caused them to follow Jesus from Tiberias to Capernaum was that He
fed them. (John
6:26) It was easy, and
it was comfortable.
Then Jesus began to tell them “the rest of the story.” Following Him
wasn’t going to be an easy road of free food and comfort. Following
Him was going to mean sacrifice and hardship and a heart determined
to live for Him and trust Him regardless of what happened in their
life. It was going to mean looking to Him and seeing He was more
than the son of Mary and Joseph. He was going to be everything, or
He was going to be nothing.
Faced with that truth, “many of his disciples went back and walked
with him no more.” (John
6:66) Like some of our
own “fair weather friends,” they walked away when it stopped being
convenient or comfortable. Then Jesus looked at His twelve disciples
and asked, “Will you also go away?” (John
6:67)
No one ever said our road was going to be easy. In fact, the
Scriptures say exactly the opposite. The book of Job tells us “man’s
days are short and full of trouble.” (Job
14:1) And Job spoke
with authority since he had lost everything…his wealth, his
children, and his health. His wife finally told him he should just
“curse God and die” and asked him why he retained his integrity. Job
answered her by asking whether they should expect only good things
to happen. (Job
2:9-10)
The question isn’t whether heartbreaking things are going to happen.
They are. The question is how will I react when they do? How will
you? Will we go away as many of Christ’s disciples did, or will we
stay the course? Will we blame God and say how unfair our
circumstances are, or will we retain our integrity? Those questions
have taken on a whole new meaning since my son Buddy died on
December 22, 2016.
At some point, I can guarantee you too will be faced with those very
choices, and it takes determination to do what’s right when your
world is falling apart. However, we need more than determination
when the worst things happen. We need the love and support of family
and friends, we need prayer, and we need the power of God to do for
us and in us what we can’t do in our own power.
Drawing that line, making that promise, standing steadfast isn’t
easy. But it’s the only way, when trouble comes, we will still be
standing in our integrity. Combining God’s power with an exercise of
our will in refusing to quit will make it possible to “withstand in
the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians
6:13)
Challenge for Today:
What might happen if we, just for
today, determined in our hearts and asked God’s strength to keep on
keeping on?
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