³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:35-40, New International Version)

Theme:  Discipleship

Context:

Today is dedicated to reviewing what we have learned over the past five days.  We spent this week reflecting on the cost of discipleship, “costly” grace, and identity.  The reflections support the view that staying/abiding is a central identity trait of disciples of Jesus.  Staying/abiding demands very high standards from disciples of Jesus, but these demands cannot exceed God’s supply.  Most significantly, disciples can rely on Jesus because He is the epitome of staying/abiding. 

God loves and enables His disciples and God’s love propels His disciples to identify themselves by loving one another. This rich subset of what discipleship means is an example of what is available to us if we diligently study the Bible with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

As you review the discussions from this week, please consider catching up on any comments you may have missed. 

Questions:

• Can you think of someone in your life who held you to very high standards but went to extraordinary lengths to support you in achieving those standards (e.g., parent, teacher, or co-worker)? 
• How did that person make you feel about the possibility of achieving the standards? 

Please leave a comment.  We would love to hear from you.