John 6:66-69 - 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.”
It is very
easy to focus on now. When we want something, we want it now. Our desires are
immediate, and when the choice is between satisfying an immediate desire and
getting a much longer term benefit, too often the immediate wins. This is why
dieting can be so tough. The long term goal of being in better shape has a
tough battle against a delicious eclair sitting in front of us.
John 6 shows
Jesus gaining then losing a huge crowd. Their initial interest in him was “because
they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.” (6:2) Perhaps some were
bored and wanted to watch a show. Some likely were sincerely seeking the
Messiah. Maybe many were sick or had sick relatives they wanted to see healed.
Whatever the
reason for initially coming to see Jesus, his feeding of the five thousand
spoke to their immediate physical desire and led many to focus there. Who does
not enjoy a delicious free lunch? The crowds started to grow even more with the
prospect of more free food to come. (6:26) Yet, when Jesus did not generate
Free Meal #2 but instead started talking about the more important, longer term
nutrition of eternal life that comes from believing in Jesus, most of them
turned away. They were not willing to stop looking at the now to gain the
forever.
The good news
is that not everyone felt that way. When Jesus asked his twelve closest
followers if they wanted to leave, too, Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom
shall we go? You have words of eternal life.” They knew what mattered most, and
they kept their focus on the long term because they understood Jesus was (and
is) the only Holy One of God who can bring eternal life.
May we never
make the mistake of trading a lot of forever for a quickly passing now.
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