Word-Filled Wednesday ~#59~ Do You Want to Leave, Too?

PASSAGE: "'I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life . . . I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world' . . . From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.

"'You do not want to leave too, do you?' Jesus asked the Twelve.

"Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.'" ~Selections from John 6:47-69

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction . . . But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life . . ." ~Matthew 7:13-14

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" ~John 14:6

LESSON LEARNED: One of the reasons that Jesus was such an effective Teacher is because He taught with "word pictures." Any good story-teller, novelist, poet or composer will tell you that to be effective in communicating what you want people to understand is to paint word pictures, to paint a picture of the mind.

One of the most graphic word pictures that Jesus painted was the seriousness of believing in Him ~ ONLY in Him ~ as our Source of salvation. He was so serious that His followers understand that He was (is) the way, truth and life that He put His illustration in the strongest possible words. "I am the living bread" ~ bread is meant to be eaten to sustain life. This illustration was so important that He repeated the it with tangible objects (bread and wine) during the Last Supper of His earthly life for the disciples who would be carrying on His earthly ministry.

I think that Jesus used this drastic word picture to winnow out those who weren't serious about the cost of discipleship; and in doing so, He got His wish because His audience of nearly 100 would-be disciples quickly shrank to some pretty small numbers. Jesus then turned to His original hand-picked twelve and asked them if they were going to leave, too? For once, dear Peter said what I hope I would have said: "Lord, to whom shall we go? YOU have the words of eternal life." Yes, Peter, believing is the easy part but following can be costly.

What about you? Is following Jesus worth everything to you? Will you "walk the talk," take the risks? You may be called upon to change your long hoped for plans . . . to change your job . . . to lose some friends . . . to stand while others bow to false idols. Can you do it? Will you do it? Or . . . do you want to leave, too?

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><