To Whom Would We Go?

To Whom Would We Go?

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

Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them.” –John 6:66-69

I don’t remember a lot about what my pastor, Charles McGowan, said as we stood at the grave, preparing to put Hope’s body into the ground. I suppose I wanted to be somewhere else—anywhere else—just not there. But I remember his words were meaningful. The Scripture that pierced me the deepest was: “Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life.” I suppose I identified with the sense of resignation as well as hope in Peter’s words. I craved the comfort of knowing that Hope’s life continues beyond the grave in the presence of God. This confidence was and is the only comfort when you stand at the grave.

Jesus had been teaching a large group of followers that if they wanted eternal life, they had to eat his flesh and drink his blood—meaning that they would need to place their faith in his sacrificial death on the cross. But for the Jews, who were entrenched in the Mosaic law that prohibited drinking blood or eating meat with blood in it, this statement was not just unintelligible, it was offensive. It was just too much. Scripture says that “at this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.”

And we can understand, can’t we? Because sometimes what God seems to say about himself through our circumstances is just too hard. We want to turn away. The temptation is to say in our hearts, What does it matter? God is going to do what he wants, anyway. Why should I pray? Why should I trust him when he has allowed the worst thing I can imagine to become a reality in my life? How can I love a God who would allow this to happen? We’re just offended with God.

We are left with a choice. We can turn from God in the lowest moments of life, allowing our offense to alienate us from God until we are out in the cold, devoid of comfort and hope. Or we can turn toward him, cry out to him, and place our faith in him as our sole source for life.

Lord, in the face of death and disappointment, I yearn for the confidence of life beyond this sorrow-stained world. There is no one else to turn to but you, so I run to you, believing you will welcome me and give me life without end.

DIGGING DEEPER