John Chapter 6: Verses 60-64 (NIV)
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.”
From this time many of Jesus’ disciples, although not the inner circle of Apostles, found that to follow what He taught would be too costly for them, they couldn’t accept it, so they abandoned His teaching. They didn’t like the idea that with regards to the things of God, human effort on its own accomplishes nothing. In spiritual things God doesn’t want us to act in our own strength. But for those who would believe what Jesus said and taught, He promised life through the Holy Spirit, and that promise still stands today.
We might find sometimes that Jesus’ teaching is hard for us to follow. It was not always popular at the time He taught it, and its not always popular now. But that is not a reason to abandon it. After all, we know in other aspects of life we should never quit just because something seems too difficult for us. Think of the sense of accomplishment when we stick at it and succeed.
How much more is it true of following the teaching of Jesus. And the joy we feel knowing we are doing what He asks, no matter how hard we may sometimes find it, is certainly worth all the effort.
Dear Lord,
When I find it difficult to be obedient to Your will, may I never be a quitter. I ask in Jesus’ Name.
Amen.