John 6:66-69 "Lord, to whom shall we go?"

John's account of the Apostle Peter's words resonate deep in my soul in John 6:66-69:

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.  So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?"  Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

Sanctification, is the process of growing in holiness.  It is a process that begins at salvation and does not end until the day we die.  I see this process at work in my life, and knowing that it is only by God's grace extended to me in Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness to God....


I often talk with people who are absolutely against anyone who claims to be a Christian.  Their hearts are so hardened because they have taken the silliest of myths and believed these myths in order to run from the God who is willing to extend grace to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ.  (Read Romans 1 to see that this is the what all men do until God saves them.)  In these conversations, my new friends are so proud that they can "disprove" the Bible with science, myths, relevance, or whatever other "argument" they can pull together.  They love to manipulate Scripture and history to the point that it almost sounds believable...emphasis on almost.   You would think that constant conversations with very intelligent relevant agnostics, mystics, scientists, and the common atheists on the street would hinder, if not destroy, my faith.  But when God begins a good work in someone, He will bring it to completion, and this is what He is doing in me.  Conversations with the most brilliant atheist or agnostic have only pushed me to a deeper dependance on God, a more vivid trust in the authority and validity of the Scriptures, and a humbleness when I think of the righteousness imputed to me by grace alone through faith alone in the blood of Jesus.  So, when reading John 6:68, I say along with Peter after lengthy conversations about Christ, "Lord, to whom shall we [I] go?  You have the words of eternal life."  There is no power, no words, strong enough to make me turn from Christ.  There is nothing that can be said that would make me believe there is no God.  There is no place I can run from His Spirit.  He dwells within me, and the power of His resurrection living inside me is proof enough that Jesus is Lord and worthy of my total devotion.  He is constantly in my thoughts.  How could I turn away?  I am not strong enough to turn away from Christ, and I find the greatest comfort of all in this.  He is stronger.  He is more faithful.  It's not my faithfulness or my strong faith.  I'm a weak, weak miserable sinner, but His love, faithfulness, kindness, and mostly, His desire for His own glory draws me near and will never let me go.  And one day, I will see His face and forever enjoy His presence...until then, keep the atheist, agnostic, mystic, and regular church-attending unbeliever coming my way.