“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69).

This is one of my absolute favorite Scripture verses and one I find myself returning to again and again.

I recently returned from an amazing vacation to Vietnam (known now in my mind as “The Great Food and Coffee Tour of Vietnam”) and mixed in with all of the delicious food, beautiful sites, and grand adventures, one of the most precious memories of this trip is getting to have deep, meaningful conversations with some friends that I haven’t gotten to know very well up until this point.

One of these conversations took us down the route of exploring why some dear people we know leave the faith or compromise and one friend asked, “Well, what makes you keep believing? Why do you stay?”

And truthfully, I have not. I have wandered and compromised often. I have let the world distract me or holed away from my problems by consuming entertainment and fostered patterns of escapism in my life instead of really wrestling with my problems or facing the hard questions.

Because there are hard questions in the Christian life. There are times when I don’t like what God has said in His Word and I have to wrestle with what I believe and why I believe it. There are times when His Word really is a sword that pierces and divides. His path is an uncompromising route, narrow and difficult, and sometimes those narrow and difficult times are so hard to press through.

But every time. Every. Time. I turn away, or want to turn away, He brings me back to this passage.

As always, it is important to look at context. Jesus has just finished preaching in Capernaum, making the strong claim that He was sent by the Father and that He is the Bread of Life. No one can come to the Father except through Him, for “As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever” (John 6: 57-58). Jesus did not equivocate – there is one way and one way only to eternal life.

Is it any wonder that in the very next few verses, the disciples grumble, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (John 6:60). And Jesus, in His infinite wisdom, meets them where they are, acknowledging their grumbling, but again pointing to the only way that they could be saved, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father” (John 6:61-65).

Jesus knew our human tendency to want to earn or add to His Word and He cut down such notions (“the flesh is no help at all”). He knew His words would cause division. He knew that only a compassionate God coming first to sinners and initiating a saving relationship with them would be the only way that people could be saved.

That goes against everything in our human nature: to be so dependent, to have no control, to only surrender to the relentless pursuit of a Holy God.

We want to soften the blow, we want to do our part, we want to add and take away and compromise, but Jesus does not let us.

And sadly, many do as some followers do here, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (John 6:66).

I’ve seen it happen time and time again – turning away, compromising, adding to Scriptures or twisting them to fit our needs. I’ve done it myself. And every time, it leads to emptiness, death, and destruction. Every time, the fruit is discord and brokenness.

That’s why, whenever I have compromised or fallen or given up, I find myself back at this passage, reading as Jesus says, “Do you want to go away as well?” (John 6:67).

And I can only answer along with Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6: 68-69).

There is no where else to go that will give life. Even with the hard passages and the questions that following Christ brings, even when I’m angry at God or question His Wisdom, wondering at the brokenness of sin in the world – the only place I can find rest, hope, and peace is at His feet, surrendered to His will.

You have the words of Eternal Life, God, and I can go nowhere else.