When Life is Put on Hold Part 4
In it for the Long Haul
John 6:60-69
Jesus knew what it was to deal with fair weather fans. As he began to share the difficult details of his ministry, many of his followers started getting disenchanted. Just a short time before they wanted to crown him king. They wanted to push him into the political arena. They wanted him to establish his kingdom in this world. They were not in for the long haul. They wanted it to happen now! So, one by one, as they sensed that he was not going to give them what they wanted, they drifted away. Even some of his closest followers seemed to be losing their enthusiasm.
This was alarming. John writes, “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 disciples who had been with him from the beginning. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” Who could have given such an answer except Simon Peter? “Lord, to whom shall we go?” Don’t you love Simon Peter? Impetuous. Excitable. Sometimes speaking before his mind is fully in gear. But Simon Peter was in it for the long haul. His commitment was no momentary, fleeting experience--good only when things were going his way. Certainly, Peter got discouraged from time to time.
After the crucifixion, he was ready to go back to his fishing nets. We can understand that. After all, he felt terribly let down. He had invested all his dreams in this man Jesus. Now Christ lay in a borrowed tomb. Still, Simon Peter’s commitment to Christ never failed. He might show a little weakness on occasion, but he was in there for the long haul. Faith is hanging in there when the day looks dark and the options are limited, because you know that somehow God is at work in your life. So, you have decided that by the grace of God you are here for the long haul. You have placed yourself in God’s hands and you say with Simon Peter: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” That is what faith is all about. Life is a marathon. It’s not how you start, but how you finish. Faith has to do with both having a great race and an even greater finish. The writer of the Revelation put God’s promise to us about finishing the race like this: “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” (2:10). That is faith for the long haul--the only kind of faith that really counts.
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Grace and Peace