The Comfort Of Being Kept
It is safe to say that we all have feelings, the thing about feelings is that they fluctuate and sometimes they are a simply a response to the things happening around us, or things that have happened in the past but sometimes they are inconsistent with reality. I don’t think we should disregard feelings; I am however saying that it is of crucial importance that we recognize our feelings don’t always align with truth. One of the truths that I personally battle with as a Christian is the fact that Jesus has saved me for himself for all eternity, that my salvation is secure. I know I didn’t earn it to begin with but, I fall into the trap of thinking it’s mine to lose somehow. I struggle with the fact that I don’t need to continuously fight to keep it, as I honestly did not contribute much to my salvation initially.
I’ve been reading the Gospel of John recently, and in Chapter 6, I came across something remarkable. In verses 35-39, this is what Jesus says, “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me but raise them up at the last day.”
From those verses, this is what we see
Jesus is the bread of life, which means that Jesus is what we need to be alive spiritually, and in the same way we eat physical bread(food) daily. We need to feast daily on Christ and the implication of feasting on him daily is both the sustenance and satiation of our spiritual life. The implication then becomes, us feasting on Christ, looking to him, spending time with him, in prayer, in his word gives us the energy we need to walk in the way that he has called us. I love that he doesn’t stop at just saying he is the bread, he also says that those who come to him, will never go hungry and those who believe in him will never go thirsty which points to him fulfilling a need that is greater than that which is physical. Jesus lets us know that the greatest form of life, the only life there is, is only found in him.
Verses 37-39 are perfect and comforting promises, we are kept, Jesus reassures us that he wants to do the will of his Father, and he does not leave us to wonder what his father’s will is. Jesus promises that if we come to him, he will not cast us out , which gives hope to all those who are yet to come to him to approach him humbly and also those who have come to him as Jesus uses the words, “ will never cast out”, so if you already in Christ this is reassurance. He promises to never cast us out and reinforces that he is the one that sustains us, Jesus will not lose us, he will keep us day after day. Our Lord has saved us for himself, our salvation in him is safe and secure for all eternity, he promises to raise us up on the last day, he who began the work in us will surely carry it on to completion until the day of Christ.
This is, however, not a license to carry on living our lives in whatever way we please. Our faith in Christ should always show up in the way we live our lives, which should always be for his Glory. The most we can make of this is to be encouraged to come to Christ with our feelings and the beautiful truths he has given us. In prayer we can ask him to help us trust him, to help us wrestle with our feelings and ultimately find comfort in him. It is also great encouragement to stay in his word so we know what Jesus has promised us and can preach it to ourselves when the time comes.
May the truth we have in Christ be our comfort, even when feelings or emotions seem to drive us away from it. God is the one that initiated our salvation, let us continue to look to him as we walk in the way he has called us and let us trust that we will continue the work he started in us.
