Words of Life
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"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.'"
The exchange between Jesus and Peter in John 6 has been central in my mind the last several weeks. Jesus has just taught his followers that his flesh and blood would be the bread and wine that would give them life. I can only imagine how difficult that was to hear and process. Surely Jesus' followers felt at times like they were drinking from the proverbial fire hydrant. Imagine the weightiness of the choice to follow Jesus given the hard right turn he took on so many rituals and centuries-old beliefs of the culture. Many did, in fact, leave as noted in John 6:66: "After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him."
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on
Scripture has a lot to say about words. Proverbs 18:21 (MSG) reminds us, "Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit - you choose."
Poison or fruit.
The events which took place on January 6, 2021 at the United States Capitol are proof of the power of words. Words incite. Words anger. Words judge and turn people against long-standing democratic traditions. They also prove how we seek a savior in other humans. Words are also proof of how much the human heart longs for life, and how we seek it through the words of others. We all do this - all of us. No wonder we willingly plow through a pile of books, listen to a podcast, seek the counsel of friends, or even look into our own hearts to find these streams of life.
Lately I've realized the exhausting nature of such a search. Not that we shouldn't seek to learn, to engage in healthy conversation, to accept pastoral care. God built us for such relationships, and indeed, they can be life giving. But how often do we look to these resources and relationships because we want a quick-fix answer, or someone to just tell us what to do so we can get on with things, so we can fix things, so the pain will stop?
The exchange in John 6 between Jesus and his followers revealed to me why my own heart often looks everywhere but to Jesus. I don't want to wait for God's slow work. I don't want to take the time for things to sink into my heart, don't want to endure the upending of my heart that is necessary for the deep, healing, and true work of God to be done. I don't want to engage in the stripping away, layer by confounding layer, of the false self I've put in place in order to survive.
But Jesus wants this for us; oh, does he want it! Somehow I think Peter might have realized this - he must have realized it to have given such a profound statement. "To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. . . ."
You. Jesus. Not political leaders, not my own heart (that's for sure!). Seek good counsel. Read good books. Listen to good theology of those who have wrestled hard, engaged scripture, and walked the difficult road of suffering and growth. But at the end of the day, only Jesus has the words of eternal life. I long to still my heart, to shut out the noise of the many voices I often turn to instead of the voice of Jesus.
"Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit - you choose."