Keep the Truth

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

KEEP THE TRUTH

John 6:60-66

60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."  66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
NIV

It appears it is much easier to follow the Law than to follow Jesus. Although the Law had so many rules and regulations, many devised or added by man, they felt the simple truth that Jesus was teaching them was too hard to accept. This is also where we get the truth about eating his flesh and blood, that he was speaking spiritually and not physically, for there is not a single person who has every actually done that, we have all used, even Jesus, at the last supper, bread and wine, as a symbol of remembering what he did on the cross, giving up his flesh and blood for us. Here is also where we see some people who followed him, people called his disciples turn back. They preferred their old lives which would lead to death then to follow what they perceived as hard teaching. What appears is they could not see with spiritual eyes, they could not grasp the spiritual as they were too imbedded in the physical. It would seem they felt more comfortable with the rules and regulations numbered out for them, then to accept true spiritual teaching. But Jesus knew that, yet he continued to teach the truth, not willing to compromise in order to convince them to stay. Each man must make his own choice, the Father makes every effort to influence people toward Jesus, that is one of the most uses of the word grace throughout the New Testament, the influence of God on our hearts and how that is reflected in our lives. God endeavors to influence all men toward Jesus, but some are not influenced and so it is true that only those who are enabled by the influence of God come to Jesus. The others would rather live under the rules and regulations of religion. This brings us to the question whether some today who thought they came to Jesus, but in reality could not cope with the freedom in Christ, the true spiritual teaching of Jesus, and therefore devised denominational rules and regulations which seemed easier to have a list of things they could check off they do not do, and a list of things they do. This would seem they too felt his teaching was too hard and turned back to a religion of man. It is far better to follow Jesus then to follow any other way. We must keep the truth as simple as the truth is. We cannot ever turn back to religion; we must stay true to the truth of Jesus. Keep the truth.