“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom
shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you
are the Holy One of God.’” John 6:68-69
There is no shortage of words today, is there? Talk radio, 24/7 “news,” the social media explosion, a ubiquity of TV monitors ... we overindulge in an endless buffet of words!
It is important to evaluate words with a strong mind and choose carefully which ones we will ingest. Why? Because their ingredients are the by-product of the heart; some are healthy and others not. It is as Jesus said, “For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”
Words spoken from one’s sin nature are often harsh, deceiving, accusatory, self-serving or dishonest. Disagreeable and hard to stomach! Yet the most dangerous ones are like candy flung to the crowds at a Fourth of July parade ... and containing about the same nutritional value: sugar, syrup and artificial flavoring. Sweet, but unhealthy, these are things people like to hear, like “there are many paths to God” or “it’s all good.” Again, listen to Jesus as he speaks to the Pharisees whose “path to God” did not lead to God at all: “... how can you who are evil say anything good?” If we swallow whatever tantalizes undiscerning palates, the entire body pays the price.
But who but much-maligned Peter, would come up with this grain of truth: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Where did that come from? Jesus told him, “Blessed are you ... for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven (Matthew16:17).” Like an expert shopper, Peter squeezed, sniffed and poked around, accepting nothing but bread that would never leave him hungry and water that would forever satisfy (John 6:35).
Jesus is “the bread of life”; the words he speaks are “spirit and life.” In him, our spirits never go hungry, but are nourished unto eternity.
Picky like Peter, may we fill ourselves with the words of eternal life. Nothing less. Nothing more.
"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Psalm 119:103
There is no shortage of words today, is there? Talk radio, 24/7 “news,” the social media explosion, a ubiquity of TV monitors ... we overindulge in an endless buffet of words!
It is important to evaluate words with a strong mind and choose carefully which ones we will ingest. Why? Because their ingredients are the by-product of the heart; some are healthy and others not. It is as Jesus said, “For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”
Words spoken from one’s sin nature are often harsh, deceiving, accusatory, self-serving or dishonest. Disagreeable and hard to stomach! Yet the most dangerous ones are like candy flung to the crowds at a Fourth of July parade ... and containing about the same nutritional value: sugar, syrup and artificial flavoring. Sweet, but unhealthy, these are things people like to hear, like “there are many paths to God” or “it’s all good.” Again, listen to Jesus as he speaks to the Pharisees whose “path to God” did not lead to God at all: “... how can you who are evil say anything good?” If we swallow whatever tantalizes undiscerning palates, the entire body pays the price.
But who but much-maligned Peter, would come up with this grain of truth: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Where did that come from? Jesus told him, “Blessed are you ... for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven (Matthew16:17).” Like an expert shopper, Peter squeezed, sniffed and poked around, accepting nothing but bread that would never leave him hungry and water that would forever satisfy (John 6:35).
Jesus is “the bread of life”; the words he speaks are “spirit and life.” In him, our spirits never go hungry, but are nourished unto eternity.
Picky like Peter, may we fill ourselves with the words of eternal life. Nothing less. Nothing more.
"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Psalm 119:103
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