No More

From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  

John 6:66 

Those who begin to follow Christ do not always continue. Our text speaks of some of them. Christ had been teaching large groups. He had fed the 5,000. He had also said some things that were hard for them to hear. When He spoke of eating His flesh,  drinking His blood, and living forever some complained. Christ challenged them, and said, ‘Does this offend you?’ He followed with, ‘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.’ His next remark was, ‘Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.’  After that, some of His followers ‘walked with Him no more.’ We witness this even now. These are times when we encounter those who seem vitally interested in Christ. They absorb all they can about Him for a while. At a certain point, they encounter something He says which they deem too hard to hear or understand. At that juncture they cease to follow Him. In effect, they ‘walk no more with Him.’ Instead they pursue whatever else catches their attention, and dedicate themselves to something other than Christ. This will not end well. If we have embraced what is best, forsaken it and pursued what is less, how shall we arrive at a good place?  

Our kind and merciful God, 
we rejoice that You appeal to us at the deepest level. 
We praise You that even in the face of rejection, 
You remain good and kind.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning