Growing up, I loved going to the games played by the Amarillo Gold Sox. I had the privilege of seeing Dave Dravecky and Tony Gwynn work their way through the minor leagues. In the early 1980's they were gone, whisked away to a new location. Our only game in town was gone. I don't know any of the details about how our city tried to keep the team, but I often wondered how they felt after they were gone.
Last week at church we looked at how many people turned their backs on Jesus when they didn't like what He had to say. The disciples had the chance to turn away Jesus too, but listen to what Peter had to say:
66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.
67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, "Are you going to leave, too?"
68 Simon Peter replied, "Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life.
69 We believe them, and we know you are the Holy One of God." - John 6:66-69 (NLT)
Peter was smart enough to recognize that Jesus was truly the only game in town.
A couple of things really make it clear. First of all Peter recognizes what is at stake. So often we focus on the things that can give us immediate pleasure. But we see that Peter was thinking about the eternal benefit of what Jesus was teaching. When Paul told us to keep our eyes on the prize, it was an exhortation to keep a thought always of eternity in our minds.
Peter also understood the nature of faith. Faith does not answer all the questions we might face. Faith allows us to recognize God for who He is even though we do not always understand what He is doing. As we see later, Peter didn't totally understand what Jesus meant when He spoke of eating His flesh and drinking His blood, but He allowed himself to place his faith in Christ anyway.
Looking at Peter's comments leaves us with those very thoughts; what do I stand with eternity? The second is this: will my faith allow me to trust God even when I don't fully understand?
Jesus really is the only game in town. Where else could any of us go?
