“ARE YOU ALSO GOING TO LEAVE?”

“At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” – John 6:66-67.

In John, Chapter 6, Jesus is speaking with His disciples—not just the twelve, but a large group that had begun to follow Him by this time. Jesus had miraculously fed the five thousand by turning just a few loaves and fishes into baskets of food. The disciples and the crowds were overwhelmed with what they had experienced. The danger that Jesus was aware of and spoke to was the people following Him for the wrong reasons.

The Bible tells us many of them left Him. They were not going to follow Jesus. They wanted to follow Jesus according to their ideas about Jesus, but not Jesus according to Jesus. At that point, Jesus turned to the twelve disciples, those closest to Him, and asked: “Are you also going to leave?”

If you were to sit down one afternoon and evening and read the New Testament straight through, you would discover that it is written about a single theme—and that theme is captured in Jesus’ question, “Are you also going to leave?” That’s just another way of asking, “Are you loyal?” Are you going to be part of something bigger than yourselves, where everyone has a role, has a job to do, and has a way to serve?

The purpose of the Christian life is to live in service of God for God’s mission in the world. You were made to have an impact. You are made for more; you are made to do great things, and you are born to impact the world. You were made to have an impact for Jesus. That’s why we’re here.

We all have gifts. It doesn’t matter how well you know the Bible or how long you’ve been a Christian. There’s no probationary period before you can make an impact for God. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, how outgoing you are, or how many people you know. It doesn’t matter how talented you think you are. If you’re a believer, God has given you gifts to serve Him and build up His church.

Don’t fall for the lie that you have nothing to offer. Many people don’t serve because of this, but it is not a valid reason. Everyone has something to offer, some way to contribute. The church’s pastors and musicians get a lot of the credit, but the scaffolding that holds the church up are people faithfully and humbly serving behind the scenes.

Discussion Questions:

1. Is there something keeping you from serving?