Do You Want To Go Away?
“After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”” (John 6:66–69 ESV)
“Do you want to go away as well?”
I know too many who are still not sure how to answer.
It’s not that they object to the moral teaching of Scripture, it’s simply that things have been too hard for too long and life goes on as if they had no God.
They have prayed and they have prayed for things the Scripture hints are good things to pray for, but no answers have come.
The sickness returns, the pain continues, people remain broken.
I have no good answers for them, at least not answers that bring any solace…some of them have suggested that I consult with more learned clerics or seek the prayers of holier people for them.
It would not comfort them more if they knew I already had done both.
They feel like leaving, but fear that even more pain would follow from an angry God.
In more lucid moments they know there is nowhere else to go.
The disciples that turned back in our passage did so because Jesus wasn’t the Messiah they expected. People leave for the same reason today.
We oversold the “benefits” of being a believer to get them in the door and papered over the calls to sacrifice and suffering.
We basically told them that all the glories of the kingdom to come would be present right now, neglecting to tell them that all those glories come with a personal cross.
We demand that they exhibit unfaltering faith in the face of any tragedy, forgetting that Jesus in the garden tried to open up negotiations to avoid His own fate.
I bring little comfort and my answers to their reality…God is good…God loves you…God is for you…ring hollow in pain.
I feel useless.
Maybe I am.
Their questions sometimes shake my own faith.
I still believe this…
“He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street;
 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;”
(Isaiah 42:2–3 ESV)
All I can do is be present and mostly silent when with them and bring them to God when I am away from them.
That… is useful.
I hope.
I believe, Lord…help my unbelief…and theirs.
Very well put…I am certain that I am not the only one who feels like my prayers do not avail much, but I am too afraid to quit praying. Afraid that not praying will lead eventually to non commitment to my faith and to my family. Afraid that praying will eventually lead to giving up since I see no results from my prayers. It is hard to live by faith, harder still to admit it is hard to live by faith and prayer. But, I still pray, still hope, still want to believe with all my heart. Thank you for saying this out loud. It helps to know I am not alone in fear and faith.
Thanks, Cathy.
Saying it out loud disarms it a bit…allows it out instead of eating one up up from the inside…
Michael, when Job’s friends went to visit him, for a week they sat with him and said nothing. That was the best thing they did for their friend, just sit with him in his pain and misery. It was when they opened their mouths and attempted to make sense of it all that things went south quickly.
Over the years I have learned that when those suffering ask me “Why?”, it’s OK to say “I don’t know but I am here to be with you and help you in any way I am able”.
And, you are NOT useless!
I’m out at the cat hospital…will respond later.
This world will make sense to me if He truly went to prepare a better place for us.
If He did not… if there is nothing beyond this world… then I have no answers for the suffering I, and those I love, am currently experiencing, and for so much else in the world in our times and before.
I am at times tempted to give it up. But for what? What then?
I continue to see and feel the Love. That is real.
But I so wish that I had the consolation of a few more answers than I have.
For me the opening response to Christ’s question keeps me hanging in there “Where else can I go? You have the words of eternal life.
For some unknown reason I believe that to be true. It’s one of the few things I understand about God.
Do You Want To Go Away?
Yes, please.
We have more than apostolic witness … we have apostolic experience. What? Yes, we have Him. The one the disciples experienced in the flesh is alive to us in the Spirit. The passage invoked here could not be better suited to convey that. They would not go because he had the words of life. That was not information, it was impartation.
Jesus in that passage offered only himself and in a way they could not comprehend but these few could taste and sense. They lived with the conviction that what they were seeking could not be found elsewhere. To clarify I am not correcting what is posted here. I am witnessing within its’ parameters.
This world is bitter for me as for so many, but I never expected much more … hmmm sometimes I did. But always returning to the witness of the Spirit in the words of Jesus and his apostles brings me sobriety. There is no glory in this age for most of us but Jesus is the embodiment of the age to come. And he invites me to partake of his incarnate glory as he ministers his flesh and blood to me.
The only thing that gives me pause about these words is a diminished sense of him… here and now. I live because he lives. I live because he is real … not in the experience of this passing world but in the ability he has to unite heaven and earth if only for fleeting moments as he comes to us fulfilling his promise to never abandon us.
The apostles did not leave because they had Him. And we have him in his suffering and death so he makes ours bearable and in his resurrection life he makes us able to overcome.
I know the bitter taste of death as everything in life leaves us. But I have him… we have him. Where indeed shall we go?
In the worst times of my life, when hope was gone, and a dark despair hung over me, I “heard” those words….and the only response I had, in my weakness, sorrow, anger, hopelessness, and tears was…. ”Lord, to whom would I go? You alone have the words of eternal life.” He holds me. I don’t need to understand it all and I can pray, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
“Where indeed shall we go?”
To the beach.
To a friend’s house.
To a concert.
Ah
Ham and eggheads for breakfast
Welcome back Josh
Sup dawg?
I am returning to the west to try and resettle in my old city. Realizing that home is a good thing and home is family. What about you Josh?
Eh, nothing worth mentioning. Tough season.
Back to Albuquerque, eh?
Yes
I feel like I have to let this season break me, all the way to the ground. Find out what’s real and what’s not. I’m afraid to let go and find out that its all been a sham.
But it does seem like a really weird dance we do. A very strange club to belong to.
Is it possible to go away? May be a better question.
Josh….. Hey there! I like what you said:
Where indeed shall we go?”
To the beach.
To a friend’s house.
To a concert.“. Yes! And He is there with us. Blessings to you, my friend.
Josh,
“Is it possible to go away?”
Maybe…but it would lead to a more miserable place, if that can be imagined.
I guess that’s why I’m sticking around. Fear.
Alex spoke well…I truly believe He went to prepare a place for us…and this isn’t it.
I’m fully invested in what will be to get through what is…
“We oversold the “benefits” of being a believer to get them in the door and papered over the calls to sacrifice and suffering.”
Yep. I bought a false bill of goods.
Josh,
I can only blame others to an extent…a cursory reading of Scripture puts the lie to “Jesus has a wonderful plan for your life”…it’s wonderful from an eternal perspective, not always so much here…
I will say that a very important book in this journey is Hebrews…Rev. Dread has given me a new appreciation for that text that I hope I have passed on to my own flock…
In the midst of my current reality and daily life… I feel you… all too well.
Joel,
You are carrying a load that boggles my mind…and your heart has been a witness to the goodness of God in the face of tragedy.
It matters to so many…
There are times when I feel distant from God. In fact I feel that way now. A lot of people feel like that and like me, for long periods of time. I long for the days before I knew too much. When life and walking with Christ were easy and fun. At times I feel like I’ve lost a good friend. But still, I can’t walk away—although I would like to. So,I put one foot in front of the other and press on.
I often times think Christianity suffers from bad marketing. The line is all your problems will go away and you’ll always be happy and care free. Jesus never peddled that line. His way was the path of suffering. But into day’s Christian market, that line does’t sell
Michael,
You’ve provided a haven for bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. That has not been useless.
Dread,
I just wanted some company in my misery… 🙂
Thanks, my friend.
I continue to find solace in the reality that God hold on to me, when I am weak. In Him we are safe and He holds us. I’m simple enough to believe that.
well stated Dread (@ 3:07 15 July). Agreed.