Where Else Can We Go?
"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.'” -John 6:66-69
Life typically doesn't come with a cruise control option. There are many obstacles that arise in the short time that we are given here on this earth and if we were to merely just "cruise along" the outcome would be undoubtedly unsatisfactory. As life's situations do emerge, there are various options and choices that surface along the way as well. When life throws all it has at us there tends to be a series of questions that come across our minds: What am I to do? Who am I to turn to? Where am I to go? I submit to you that we should take a cue from Simon Peter as I believe he virtually answers this series of questions in John 6.
After Jesus gives a difficult teaching for many to accept, a multitude of his disciples cease following him (John 6:22-65). At this point it seems as if Jesus has lost His "momentum" and he turns to the twelve and asks, "Do you want to go away as well?" At a time where it would seem most appropriate for them to say, "Yes, we have heard enough Jesus" or "Yes, we have no idea what you are talking about" or "Yes, your teaching is too hard to follow" Simon Peter replies by saying, "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." What a statement! After hearing one of the most difficult teachings he has ever heard, Peter's response shows us that regardless of how difficult, regardless of how hard, regardless of how absurd it may seem, the Word of Christ always stands true! This great truth is something that we must cling to in our day in age for a multitude of reasons.
We live in a period of time where the Word of God is constantly being scrutinized, undermined, and mocked, yet despite all of these things the Scriptures remains true! As humans, experiencing the pressures of the world and the desire of our flesh, the easy thing to do would be to go along with the culture and undermine the Bible. It would be easy to be swayed by our own understanding rather than by the truth that is God's Word. I submit to you that it would have been easy for Peter to walk away from the Word of Christ as well, yet he realized that he had no where else to go that would have offered any benefit whatsoever. If we are born again believers saved by the grace of God that is seen in Jesus Christ, then we too have nowhere else to go!
Peter gives us the answer to the three questions seen earlier. What am I to do?... Submit to the Word of God! Where am I to turn to?... Turn to the Word of God! Where am I to go? Go to the Word of God! Jesus prays for His people in John 17 and asked that we would be sanctified by the truth and He then proclaims that the Word of God is truth! Brothers and Sisters, despite the difficulty of these days, despite the wicked ways of the world, and despite the hindrances in this hour, may we be a people, who just like Peter, realize that we have no place else to go that provides any benefit other than the living, inerrant, sufficient, authoritative, infallible, sacred, precious Word of God!