Offended Faith

For many of us, there will come a time in our lives when offense will come. It may occur as a result of a catastrophic event in our lives, such as the death of a loved one. It may occur because of a divorce, an unanswered prayer, or the desertion of a friend. Whatever it is, it will be a situation or a circumstance that doesn't "fit" with our perception of who God is or should be. Regardless, when the offense comes we will be confronted with the question:

Will you walk away or will you have faith?

John 6:53-66 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

The reality of the Bible is that it is not a "watered down feel good" story. There are many things in the Bible that are "hard sayings". In the passage above, the disciples and followers of Jesus have just been confronted with one. Many went back because the teaching was not only hard to understand, it did not conform to their image of the Messiah. The offense had come and now a decision had to be made.

John 6:67-68 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Man, I love that scripture. It just clarifies everything for me. There was a time in my life when I was offended - not at man, but at God. I questioned everything I knew or had ever known about Him. But in the end, it all came down to the exact same statement as the one made by Peter.

"Where else can I go, You alone have the words of eternal life".

If your faith is based upon experiences, then what happens when God doesn't show up?

If your faith is in prayer, then what happens when the prayer is not answered?

If your faith is in other Christians, what happens when they fail you or desert you?

You see, faith - lasting, enduring faith - cannot be based upon anything other than the person of Jesus Christ. During times of trials and testing, all of these other things can be taken or pulled away from you. But Jesus made a promise that He would never leave us or forsake us. When all else fails, He will always be there.

James 1:2-3 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.