Words from the Rock
Those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.
John 6:37–39 NLT
Everyone gets rejected by someone sometime. If it hasn’t happened to you yet, just wait, it will. It’s just the way life goes. But Jesus promises that he will never reject you. That’s a promise you can count on. Jesus also wants his listeners to understand that not only will he never reject them, but that he has come to do God’s will as well. He directly connects himself to God, but at the same time he makes it perfectly clear that God is the one calling the shots, not Jesus.
Jesus knows these people have a basic, although somewhat flawed, understanding of God. He hopes that their respect for and belief in God will somehow translate into how they relate to him as God’s ambassador. Jesus also knows (thanks to those hypocritical Pharisees and other religious leaders) that the people he’s addressing have a serious fear of God’s rejection. Day in and day out it hangs over their heads like a black cloud—that all-consuming worry that if they don’t live their lives “perfectly” (according to a bunch of impossibly crazy laws), God will reject them. What a heavy load to carry.
Somehow Jesus must convince them (and us) that not only will he never reject anyone, but he will also make a way for everyone to be reunited with God—permanently. That’s an even greater promise—no rejection and a never-ending connection. Of course, at this point Jesus isn’t finished with his work on earth. Consequently, his listeners still feel confused. But just hearing the sweet promise that Jesus would never reject them must have been a huge comfort. It’s a promise you can cling to as well.
My Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for accepting me just as I am. Thank you that you will never reject me. Please help me to never reject you either!
Amen.
Final Word
What can we ever say to such wonderful things as these? If God is on our side, who can ever be against us?
Romans 8:31 TLB
Stone for the Journey
God will never reject me.