Welcome to the “Front Porch.”
In the sixth chapter of John’s gospel, the apostle takes us to a scene where the disciples come face to face with one of the Lord’s most piercing questions. How they answer this question will be a defining moment in their lives.
There on a grassy hillside in Capernaum, the Lord asks, “Will you also go away?”
In other words: What are you going to do? It’s time for you to make a decision!
The reason the Lord turns to His disciples with that question is that hundreds of followers had just turned their backs on the Master and began their sad plights back down those grassy hillsides. The crowd had followed for a while and were so enthusiastic and excited about the Lord and His teaching.
But things change.
The Lord’s demands are too great, and, when times get hard, they turn and go away … “Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, this is a hard saying; who can hear it? From that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him” (John 6:60, 66).
Where they go, we do not know. We do know all too well that “away” leading to many long, winding worldly roads.
As that crowd turns their backs on the Lord, Jesus – disappointment written across His face – asks that great question: “Will you also go away?”
Such a piercing question demands an answer, a response. It leaves no choice! Often it is answered not with the tongue but with the life a man lives. Too often the answer is that of the multitude: They turn away in search of something else.
The Apostle Peter must have fidgeted at the Lord’s question until he digs a hole in the ground with his foot. The question bothers him. It rings in his ears and his conscience, and he has no choice but to make a decision, right then!
And he does!
“Lord, to whom shall we go?” he says with all the resoluteness he can muster, “You have the words of eternal life” (v. 68).
Oh, what a response! Peter has learned that – even if he should search every crook and valley of the world – in the end he would not find anything as fulfilling, precious, meaningful, and saving as that which stands in front of him at that moment – the Lord Jesus!
I wonder, today, if you have turned away, if you’ve gone searching for something that will quench a thirst that can only be quenched by the Lord. There is no shortage of back roads that promise wells of satisfaction.
But if you’ll really look at a life chosen apart from the Master, I know you’ll agree with Peter. In the end, worldly searches do not satisfy. The Lord alone “has words of eternal life!”
Some years ago, songwriter J.B. Coates considered this compelling scene, and he put the dilemma into a beautiful song:
“Where could I go? Oh, where could I go? Seeking a refuge for my soul. Needing a friend to save me in the end, where could I go but to the Lord?”
What a beautiful question! But we have to offer a gentle warning: The answer is not as easy as it seems. It demands a complete surrender, a change of life. But, in the end of it all, there really is nowhere else to go!
We will be having a gospel meeting Wednesday through Sunday, July 14-19 at the Church of Christ of Red Oak.
Services are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday - Friday, 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The speaker is Greg Branch from Oakdale, California. All are welcome!
Coach Steven Ray Bowen served as a teacher and basketball coach at Red Oak High from 1998-2012 and recently came out of retirement twice for teaching tours at Ferris and Waxahachie High Schools. He and his wife Marilyn (the “amazin’ blonde”) have slowed down some of their travels and reconvened in their evangelistic work with the Church of Christ of Red Oak at Uhl/Ovilla Roads, in addition to Coach’s work as a writer and author, including the working to publish “Crossing The Georgia Line” that ran in the Ellis County Press. Call or text (972) 824-5197, email coachbowen1984@gmail.com, and see frontporchgospel.com.