Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Close friends I have had who grew up in Protestant traditions will talk now and again about a practice they often encountered in their youth. They would be at church or, more likely, at one of a series of “revival meetings” specially designed to bring those who had not been saved into the church. At the close of the meeting or worship service the preacher would issue an altar call. That is, he would invite all those to come down to the front of the church who, thanks to the revival, had encountered Jesus in a powerful way and were ready to commit themselves as Christians for the first time. The stories I have heard of those conversions are powerful but also unsettling because they often include stories of youngsters going forward not because they felt touched by Jesus but because they were afraid of the hell that the preacher promised if they failed to commit.
Even more unsettling is the stories these friends tell of subsequent revivals. After having given their young lives to Jesus, they hear the preacher’s call again. But this time the question isn’t whether they are ready to commit themselves to Jesus. It’s about whether their initial commitment was for real.
When friends tell such stories, they often convey the real anxiety that they felt at the time. They thought they had committed themselves to Jesus. Or at least tried to. But was it for real? Did they just do it out of fear? Did they just do it because their peers were going forward? But, even if it was for real, did it remain so? Were they still truly committed to Jesus? Were they really saved? Or did they need to go forward again, and again, and again to make sure?
Of course, the stories that I have heard reflect the cultivation of a fear of spending eternity in hell if one doesn’t get it right. But a concern about the genuineness of a faith commitment is not at all unique to these folks and their particular experiences. We all wonder now and again (and perhaps more often than that) if we are the real deal. We want to be true Christians, but are we? And if we’re not, what might that mean?
In the text from the book of John for today, Jesus gives us an answer.
Importantly, he does not say that his followers are absolutely earnest in their commitment and completely authentic in their faith. He doesn’t say that each day they follow him in just the manner he would have them do. Instead, he says that his followers (he calls them his “sheep”) hear his voice. He says that he knows. And he says that they follow him.
They hear. He knows. They follow.
We are called by Jesus to hear and to follow. We are not called to know. It is Jesus who knows. Moreover, as Jesus calls us his sheep, it seems unlikely that he is thinking we’re all going to be going in the right direction all of the time. If sheep did that, they’d have no need of a shepherd! And finally, Jesus says that “no one can take them out of my hand.” He underscores the point by saying in addition that no one can take them out of the Father’s hand either.
None of us should feel anxiety about whether our commitment to Jesus was/is good enough or true enough. He knows. He knows who we are, and he knows we follow (even if we often run off in the wrong direction). No can take us out of his hand. We are his no matter what. And that is the peace of Christ.
Amen! Hallelujah!
- Sue Trollinger