To Whom Shall We Go?

(Note: this blog is dedicated to my wonderful friend, Teresa, whose words of faith inspired this post!)

In the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, we read the bread of life discourse in which Jesus explains to his disciples that he will offer his body and blood, his very flesh, "for the life of the world". Verse after verse, he reiterates that whoever eats his flesh will have eternal life. And as we hear in verse 66, "many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him". As Jesus watches two-thirds of his followers walk away from him, he turns to the twelve Apostles and asks, "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter then looks at him and boldly answers, "Master, to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life."

I think that at some point in our faith journey, Jesus turns to each of us and asks this very same question, "Do you also want to leave?" And I was praying about this the other day and came to the conclusion that in my life, more often than not, my answer to this question is "YES, Lord. I do want to leave". And from there comes a myriad of reasons why I, like Jesus' disciples, must return to my former life.

-Yes, Lord, I do want to leave because I don't trust that you actually know what you're doing or that you can bring me fulfillment.
-Yes, Lord, I do want to leave because I've got this really great idea of what I'm going to do with my life and frankly, it's better than your idea for me.
-Yes, Lord, I do want to leave because I'm too busy to stay here with you and do all this stuff you ask of me.
-Yes, Lord, I do want to leave because everybody else is leaving you and I am not about to follow you by myself.
-Yes, Lord, I do want to leave because I'm guessing staying here with you is going to require me to change a lot about my life and I'm not ready to do that.

But at the core of my being, I desire to come to a place where I CAN answer as Peter did and say, "Lord, where the heck else would I go?" Peter had given up EVERYTHING for Jesus. He had left his profession, walked away from his family, separated himself from his friends, and changed his entire life to follow Jesus. Quite literally, without Jesus, nothing in Peter's life made sense. Jesus was at the core of Peter's life and was the reason for everything he did. Because of Peter's depth of faith, his trust in Christ's words, and willingness to follow Jesus, his response was appropriate.

Peter could answer as he did because he had built his life completely around Jesus. Today, let us critically look at our lives and ask ourselves, "Is Jesus the center of MY life?" Do I place my identity in him or in what others think of me? Do I let him guide my work and direct my future? Is he the center of my friendships? Is he where I seek consolation, peace, and fulfillment? Is he the source of my happiness? Today, let us ask for the grace to see the areas of our lives in which Jesus is not the focus. And let us beg for the strength to hand over these areas to him so that with great conviction we can answer, "To whom shall we go?"