Digging Deeper

At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” John 6:41-42

Long before Jesus’ arrival, the people were waiting for the coming of the Messiah.

When Jesus came to the earth, prophecy was fulfilled.  Throughout his life and his teaching, prophecy was fulfilled. 

 Many people witnessed his miracles and his acts.  More than we can know about, as John said at the end of his Gospel:

 ” Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:25

Through His teaching and his acts, many people came to believe Jesus as the Messiah and found everlasting life.

Many though, refused to believe.  They demanded more signs, more miracles, more proof.  They wouldn’t take the leap of faith to trust in Him.

Faith is necessary in our walk with Jesus.  If we don’t trust in Him, if we don’t trust that He is the great I Am, there is nothing that can bring us to Him. 

Faith is a necessary part of our every day lives.  Driving down the road, coming upon a stop sign, we believe that if we step on the pedal in the middle, we will stop in time.  Why do we believe that?  We’ve seen it happen.  We don’t all know the mystifying inner workings of an automobile’s braking system, but we’ve accepted that the middle pedal makes us stop.  We don’t have to be able to name all of the components in the brake system, we don’t have to put our hands on each and every piece; we just accept that it’s going to work.

Why then, do we so often struggle with faith in our Savior?  His own disciples struggled with the magnitude of His greatness, so it’s little wonder that we, 2000 years later, have our times of doubt. 

A person with faith is a beautiful thing.  I know a young man who is on the cusp of letting go, and I am so excited for him.  I can see in him a look of a toddler, sitting at the top of the slide at the playground, unsure about letting go, unsure if someone will be there at the end of the slide to catch him.  I can’t wait for him to let go of the rails and slide, I know he’ll be laughing with glee and fright, and when Jesus meets him, I know he’ll do what all toddlers do after that first slide – he’ll run to the top and slide again, this time with no fright, with no apprehension, just the acceptance that he’ll be caught up in the love of Jesus again and again.

Father, thank You for being there to catch me every time.  Forgive me in my times of apprehension, and help me remember that I can count on You to catch me every time I let go

Read: John 7:14-24

by: Jeanne Roberts