How Not To Go Away From Jesus

“But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away” Luke 8:13

In the parable of the sower, those who “fall away” are those who quit faithfully following Jesus. People talk about “quitting the church” and “not being religious” and “not believing stuff,” but actually they are falling away. They are going away from Jesus.

In Luke 8, leaving Jesus was the farthest thing from the minds of His followers. And it’s the same for us. During the calm we say with Peter, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Mt 26:35). But if the situation gets bad enough or if we see what we think is something better someone else, we are tempted to quit (and some actually do).

To avoid going away from Jesus we need to remain focused on what is really important. Many left Jesus in John 6:66, but some stayed. What made the difference? People left Jesus because He wouldn’t feed them again – He wouldn’t satisfy their physical desires. But why didn’t the apostles leave? Peter explained: “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” (Jn 6:68-69). True following of Jesus is based on Who He is and what His words say. Desires for something else will take us away from following Jesus. His word will guide us to faithfully follow Him.

To avoid going away from Jesus we need to pray. Before the biggest trial of His life, His arrest, and crucifixion, what did Jesus do? He prayed (Mt 26:36-46). And what did He tell His disciples to do? “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt 26:41). Like the disciples in Gethsemane, we often become distracted by other things or are too exhausted to seriously “watch and pray.” Jesus warns that at times our body will not want to cooperate with the desires of our spirit. Our body will say no when our spirit says yes. This is a warning that the struggle between flesh and spirit must be won by the spirit to avoid disaster.

We may not think much about going away from Jesus until after it happens. Soom are surprised or even shocked by their own return to the world. The key to faithfulness is in maintaining our faith. We need to do it NOW – before doubts or fears or challenges arise. Become strong NOW, so that come what may we will not be moved but confess, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…”    dd