When Jesus asks us to follow Him even when we don’t understand, it can feel unnerving. It can make us want to back away a bit. But that’s actually a time to press in and try to understand, not a time to run away. Again, some people follow Jesus only for the show or the good feelings. They like being part of something. They like aspects of being involved—like the community or the sense of purpose—but everything about their relationship with God is superficial. When they realize it might cost them something, or when things start going deeper or over their head, they move on to something else, something easier. This is true now, and it was true when Jesus walked the earth. After these particularly difficult teachings, Jesus was left with far fewer followers. The twelve apostles and some others remained with Him— but everyone else deserted Him. We have to accept Jesus as He is and follow Him even when it doesn’t all make sense in our heads yet. Even when we don’t understand Him or His teachings, even when it means leaving things, places, and people behind. While salvation is free to the believer, it cost Jesus everything. In return, we give Him true dis- cipleship, which means not bailing when things get confusing or feel less than ideal. If we bow out as soon as it seems more desirable for us to do so, we were probably never all the way in to begin with.

Consider these questions as you reflect on today’s reading:

In today’s passage, what began happening among Jesus’s followers?

When questioned by Jesus, what did Simon Peter declare?

Has there been a time when you thought about backing away from or leaving something but instead continued pressing in and found it was well worth doing so? If so, what happened in that situation?