Are You Going to Leave, Too? – August 30, 2024

Read: John 6:51-69

From this time, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave, too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
John 6:66-69

Are You Going to Leave, Too?

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I don’t know if you know this, but the Christian Church in the United States is shrinking. That’s not the case in other parts of the world. The Church is growing rapidly in places like Vietnam, Zambia, and parts of South America. But not here.

Maybe you already know this to be true. Just think about your neighborhood. How many of your neighbors go to church on Sunday morning? How many of them are members of a local church? It’s becoming a smaller and smaller number.

There are many reasons why that’s happening, but one of the main reasons is that the teachings of Jesus clash with the teachings of our society. For example, Jesus teaches that:

• marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman.
• There are two genders, male and female. God created humans in his image.
• All humans of any age, born and unborn, deserve to be valued and protected.
• All people have fallen short of God’s requirements.
• All people need God’s forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

Those teachings are hard to believe in our culture, and for that reason, many have left the Christian faith. However, this problem is nothing new. In Jesus’ day, his words offended many of his original followers. One day, after Jesus went into detail about who he was and what he came to do, many people left him and no longer believed in him.

At that moment, Jesus turned to his twelve disciples and asked, “You do not want to leave, too, do you?” Peter, one of the Twelve, said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” In other words, although some of Jesus’ teachings might be hard to understand and believe, he is worth following because he is the one who gives us eternal life.

So, now we need to ask ourselves, as many people around us might be leaving Christianity, are we going to leave too? By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can say, “No, we will trust in Jesus Christ. He has the words of eternal life.”

Closing Prayer:

Lord, as many people around us are falling away from you, give us the ability to trust in you, your words, and your promises. Please help us doubt our faulty human reason and trust in the wisdom you proclaim. Amen.

The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire.

Questions for Younger Children

• Discuss with your family: people you know and care about who are not Christians.
• Take a moment to pray for them.

Questions for Elementary Age Children

• Today’s devotion said the teachings of Jesus clash with the teachings of our society. Can you think of an example of that?
• How can you overcome that challenge to faith?

Questions for Middle School and Above

• Why do you think many young people stop attending church?
• What are some ways to safeguard your faith so you will not fall away from Jesus later in life?