Christ Church Rockville Lenten Devotion
Jer. 23:9-15
Rom. 9:1-18
John 6:60-71
John 6:63-66
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. “Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
How easy it could be during times of trouble to just give up, lay down our heavy hearts, and turn our backs on finding the way forward—to unburden our flesh from the demands of everyday life and to stop serving others who are in much more need than we are. But the flesh counts for nothing, as the scripture says. It is the Spirit that gives life.
Sometimes when I’m faced with hardships, I’m as guilty as the disciples described above who did not believe in Jesus. I ask myself, “How can such poverty, anguish, discrimination, illness, and violence be bestowed on people in this world who so readily do not deserve it?” Sometimes it’s hard to believe that what’s happening right in front of me is actually real. In those times, when I’m overwhelmed by the events swirling around me, both big and small, I have to trust in the Sprit, the Spirit that gives life, that I will find my way back. And I do.
