Transformed – teen devotion – August 25, 2024

Some of Jesus’ disciples walked away from him because his teaching was hard to accept. The 12 knew better than to walk away from Jesus and his words of eternal life. We answer Jesus boldly as Peter did, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”… When they heard it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching! Who can listen to it?”

After this, many of his disciples turned back and were not walking with him anymore. So Jesus asked the Twelve, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
John 6:51-52, 60, 66-67

Hard to Swallow Food

Family vacations are fun. They are opportunities to go see people you haven’t seen in awhile, or see places you’ve never been. The memories that you make on vacations remain with you forever. But the biggest drag about vacation is typically the drive. You’ve got to put in countless hours and miles to get where you are going.

Your family stops at a gas station to fill up and stretch their legs. You stare at the car door and you just don’t want to get back in. Your legs are cramped. Your siblings are annoying you. Your device is out of cell coverage. You just can’t get back in. Your parents may threaten that they’ll leave without you, but you just can’t do it!

But you HAVE to. You force yourself back into that car, because there is no other way to get back home. And if you sleep through it, it maybe won’t be so bad.
There are times in life that we have to choose the hard option, simply because there is no other option.

Jesus gave the people only one option. Eat the Bread of Life. Keep Jesus in your life.

It wasn’t hard to understand; it was hard to accept. It is hard to accept for the sinful soul to give up on the earthly appeal of this world. It is hard for the self-sufficient person to let God do all the work. But it is the only way.

There is no other option for us. As difficult as it may be to be a Christian, we realize there is no other realistic option. The world has nothing to offer us long term. Jesus is the only life-giving option we have.

Eat the Bread of Life. Keep Jesus in your life.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you are the only life-giving source, the Bread of Life. May we do the hard thing and choose Jesus over the world every day. Amen