Faith

The Faith-shaped life needs to be one anchored in faith, regardless of how long we have been believers, regardless of what church we belong to, regardless of what denomination we call home, and regardless of how well we live out our belief. We need to recognize always, our need for God, that our faith is based on the fact that we are all sinners, we have all fallen short of God’s intended path for our lives.   

It’s doesn’t mean we can’t be proud of the church we are part of, but it doesn’t mean we can’t take that pride in our church, into the “only we can do what needs doing” mindset. We mustn’t ever think that only we can be used of God for “X” purpose.  We must always be cognizant of the fact that we need God.  We need him in our lives, and that we can’t do what we do without his intervention in our lives.  We have a sinfulness embedded into our lives that permeates our very being. Only by his grace are we saved from that.

Oh…. as I read this chapter I thought back to my teenage years when I had a friend from the Pentecostal church who kept inviting me to church events.   It took a couple of years for her to realize that my faith was just as real as her own. Before that she didn’t think I could possibly be a Christian because I didn’t go to the Pentecostal church.   Unfortunately once she realized this she stopped being friendly to me… made me feel like I had just been a “project” for her and our friendship wasn’t as real as I thought it was.  

At time it was a very hard thing for me to deal with… losing what I thought was a friend because I was a person of faith.  But in hindsight I look back and realize that this relationship as helped in my relationships with other believers.   I’ve met people in the Roman Catholic church that have a firm understanding that Christ is who saves them from their sins, as well as Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Baptists and more.   Just various renditions of having faith in Christ.  I can’t say that talking is always the easiest when talking the nitty gritty of how one defines the details of how you walk out that faith, but I’ve met true believers within and without the Reformed Church. 

It has also made me cognizant of the fact that if I befriend someone, it needs to be a true friendship.  Not based on “I want to have them convert”, but because I truly care about them as people.  It’s not saying that friendships don’t come and go, because they do, just let them be real friendships. 

I do wonder though, based on the premise of this chapter, that it’s easy for people to start to think they are better than others, or that their faith is the most true one based on the nitty gritty details.  How does one prevent such thinking?  Even Jesus’ very own chosen disciples made this error… see Mark 9

38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

How do we prevent ourselves from thinking that only our denomination/church/faith group can do “X” ministry properly? To prevent the self-preening and the “I can do it better” ideas that so easily come by us?  

I suppose the answer is to continually remind ourselves who we are before the Lord.  To remember what our need is, to have our sins forgiven, and to remember that we are called to God’s family by God’s choosing us. 

John 6:60-71 is our passage today, last time we talked about The will of the father.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

I find it interesting, I’m reading this passage about how the disciples said that Jesus last statement was a hard one, and who could bear listening to it.  So I went back and re-read it ““Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” “

I can understand them saying that you know?  If you take it literally…it would be a hard thing to consider eating someone or drinking their blood. I don’t wonder they were confused about what Jesus truly meant by it.  I love how Jesus answered their mumblings: “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.”

He points them to the spiritual aspect of what he is talking about.  They need to eat and drink spiritually of all that he has to offer, for it’s the Spirit that gives life.  The Spirit, not the physical.

Jesus even went on to say that he knew that some people simply could not believe and indeed, some of those following him did turn away from him and no longer followed him.  But the 12 remained and to them Jesus addressed his next comments, asking if they wanted to leave him as well. 

Oh.. but Simon Peter gave him a good answer eh?  “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Even this statement of faith didn’t change what Jesus knew would happen, about how one of the 12 would betray him (Judas Iscariot).   But Peter’s words eh?  Do they ring as true in your heart as they do in mine?  He knows full well that Jesus is life, and truth, and in him He has put his trust and belief.  Through Jesus he knows, comes eternal life. Jesus is the Holy One of God.  Simon Peter knows this well. 

Oh that I might have that quick and sure certainty of faith.  To be able to quickly answer Jesus when he asks “do you want to leave as well”.  to be able to say “where would I go?  You are the one he bestows eternal life, you are the holy one and I believe in you.”   LET ME BE THAT CERTAIN.