Alignment assures the hold

Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don’t really believe me. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let go. I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me. (John 6:35)

I have probably read this passage a hundred times if not more like several hundred, but each time we go through scripture God can bring something new to mind. I think it is because we are more ready to 'see' things or 'hear' things at some times than we are at others. Life's circumstances, our attitude of heart, the removal of distractions, and creating a 'space' for God's presence are just a few things that influence how 'open' we are to what God wants to show us. I am the Bread of Life - how many times have you read that yourself? What does that mean to you? That isn't the portion that jumped out to me today, though. If you read on, you discover a couple of very specific words that caught my attention. Aligns - explicitly - I hold on and don't let go. Those are the words that captured my thoughts for just a while this morning. 

Aligns - the person who 'aligns' with him hungers no more and thirsts no more. We all know this is not a 'physical' hunger or thirst being addressed here, right? It is more than likely a hunger or thirst that is spiritual and even emotional. Yes, emotional! God knows we have many 'hungers' and we 'thirst' for things like feelings of belonging, being appreciated or cherished, and even feeling like we aren't a bother to him. Jesus reminds us today that our 'alignment' with him will do more than just set us right spiritually - freeing us from our sinful pasts, but it actually helps us find that emotional balance we are so desperately craving. To align really symbolizes us bringing our every thought and attitude into 'cooperation' or 'agreement' with how he has created us to live life. It means we don't have to crave belonging any longer because when we align with him, our sense of belonging is not just realized, it is met to the fullest extent.

Explicitly - God doesn't tell us to align with him in a manner that is going to be hard for us to grasp - he tells us our most fulfilled place or sense of belonging is found when we align with him - period. He knows we need to hear this clearly, and even to have it demonstrated in our lives, because we don't need anymore complicated explanations - religious pursuits give us enough of those already! God is 'specific' with us because he knows when we understand it is our 'cooperative' and 'yielded' spirit that brings us into the place of hungering and thirsting no longer, we will not want to wait a moment longer to enter into that place! 

I hold on and don't let go - maybe this is a little odd for me to focus on within this passage, but here is why it caught my attention this morning - God does the holding - we don't. He only asks for us to align with him - like when we turn the two poles of the magnet toward each other - then he pulls us into that closeness with him, much like the magnet attracts and holds the object that is now in alignment with it. As we align ourselves with him, he pulls us closer and closer until that union is not able to be severed. It is a 'firm grip' he has on each of us - we can count on that. No matter how 'feeble' my grip - his is stronger and more capable of holding me even when I feel like I am slipping away! This is indeed good news for us - our grip isn't what matters - it is just our alignment! He does the holding - we just need to do the aligning! Just sayin!

Hold my hand, God

Ever run the other way when you know the right way to be going is exactly the opposite from the one you have chosen? You see or hear something, then without a moment's hesitation, you turn and run, hoping to avoid the confrontation, escape the demand, or just plain ignore the situation? I think we could all answer in the affirmative to this one on at least one occasion in our lives, but probably more frequently that we'd truly like to admit. It is sometimes more "convenient" to pretend we did not hear what was asked - but what is the cost of hearing and then not doing? It is probably less "costly" to just ignore the need someone has at that moment - but who will meet the need if we were the ones designed to do it? I imagine it is less of a "relational intensity demand" to avoid the confrontation - but what walls will be built by avoiding the difficult discussions? Most of the time, running the other way means we are running away from what God actually expected us to deal with in one way or another!

One day long ago, God's Word came to Jonah, Amittai's son: "Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They're in a bad way and I can't ignore it any longer." But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get. (Jonah 1:1-3)

Jonah finds himself in one of those "I heard this, but I am gonna do this" moments in his life. He turned and ran! Have you ever wondered why God put all the "stories of struggle" in scripture? I think it is because God wants us to realize he knows we ALL struggle with stuff - especially obedience! This struggle doesn't make God any less "interested" in our obedience - in fact, it strengthens his resolve to bring us to the place where we stop running! God tells him the need of a nation - Niniveh is in "a bad way" - they have a need and God wants to use Jonah to meet it. Too many times, we are the ones "in a bad way" and our need is SIGNIFICANT. What if the one God designs to come to our rescue resists his call or ignores it entirely? We'd be left there "in a bad way", without any rescue because the one God asked to meet the need is running from him! Oh, maybe God would raise up someone else, but the fact remains, the one God burdened first is likely to be the one God designed specifically for OUR need!

In looking at Jonah's response to God's request, we probably see a lot of our own struggle with obedience at times. We clearly hear the voice and intention of God - there is no problem with our 'hearing'. He wants us going one direction - we choose the other - the problem is with our 'acting' on what it is we hear. Does it ever surprise you how much you and I are willing to actually "spend" on running the opposite direction from what God wants in our lives? Look at Jonah's flight - it cost him a monetary fare on a ship headed to Tarshish. In trying to get as far away from God as he could get, it cost him! We are about to see it cost him much more than a few coins, though. The same is true whenever we attempt to resist the thing God asks of us. The sad truth is obedience "costs" us something - but disobedience may actually cost us so much more! I don't know what steps of obedience God may be asking of each of you today, but I do know we have two choices - go WITH God, or go AWAY from God. On the ship to Tarshish, Jonah had no traveling companion - on the journey to Nineveh, he was held by the hand of God. Somehow, the "going WITH" seems a whole lot more appealing to me than the "going AWAY" does! I really don't like to be in alone in a crowd of strangers - especially in a close environment like the confines of a ship! There is truly no escape if we find ourselves in company we'd rather not keep!

As a child, someone always took my hand as I crossed the street. Why? To keep me safe! Imagine the journey of obedience as one that is walked hand in hand with God. Maybe we'd be less inclined to run if we reached out to take his hand a little tighter, when the things seemed scary and the threats were real in our lives! We'd certainly be a whole lot safer - in his hands we are secure - our obedience is somehow made easier when he is there to help us navigate those steps! Just saying!

Invitation to be held

^35-38Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don't really believe me. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don't let go. I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me.

(John 6:35-38)

This passage of scripture follows an amazing event of Jesus feeding masses of people gathered on the countryside with only five barley loaves and two small fish.  The scripture tells us it was at least 5000 people - probably only counting the men in the crowd, as was the custom.  The disciples have distributed bread and fish from what appeared to be a never-ending supply, with left-overs to boot!  The miracle of feeding the multitude makes even more people show an interest in following him.  Now, Jesus speaks to the crowds that come looking for him.

Jesus has left the hillside and gone across the sea to the other shore.  He is approached by the crowds who have come looking for him and he has some pointed words for them.  The first thing he encounters is their motives - he tells them point blank that they have come looking for him simply because they were fed.  He almost chides them for their lack of spiritual insight - telling them that they were not looking for him because of what they had seen God do, but for the food!  Ouch!

Then he launches into an exhortation that escapes many in the crowd.  He asks them to seek for bread that does not perish - something really not heard of in those days of no preservatives, freezers, or air-tight containers!  They are quite honest with him that they really have no idea what he is talking about.  They even go so far as to ask him for a "clue" into what he is doing so they can really decide if they want to "throw in their lot" and follow him!  Okay - get the picture here - a crowd so huge that we could not count them all had been fed with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish AND there were even left-overs - and they want a "clue" of who he is and what he is doing????

Jesus is infinitely more patient with the stupidity of man than I am!  He guides them into discovery of who he is with an invitation to know him better.  He promises them that if they align with him, they will hunger no more.  I am thinking most of the crowd is still focusing on the type of bread that came down from heaven during the time of Moses (manna) - while he is attempting to get them to see that they need the Bread of Life (Jesus).  

The most amazing portion of this passage is found in these words:  Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don't let go.  Woohoo!  Jesus' words give us insight into how it is that we embrace God - it is really a matter of HIM holding on to us and not letting go of US.  Somehow, we have it formulated in our minds that WE need to hold onto him - but see the truth laid out for us here - HE is the one doing the holding!

Our invitation today is to be held - but that requires a willingness to come close enough to him to be held tightly by his arms.  Jesus reminds us that even the coming is really not our doing - God has orchestrated even that.  Remember that God draws us to him - we respond by yielding to his embrace.  Jesus' promise to us is that when we run to him, he has open arms - ready to hold onto us for all eternity.  There is much to be found in his embrace - more than bread for our body with a little left-overs.  His embrace is all-encompassing.  The one he holds onto has no need of anything else to satisfy the deepest longings of the heart.

In the Sunday message from our pastor, he mentioned something that has stuck with me all week:  God calls sinners, not the righteous.  The only thing we need to be to be "qualified" to be called by God is to be a sinner - something that we are each amply qualified for!  Jesus' words are to align with him - there we find his "holding" arms of tender care, loving guidance, encouraging hope, and infinite enjoyment.  Won't you be "held" today?