Sing along if you know it: “Flintstones, meet the Flintstones …” My guess is you could remember the lyrics up to “… page right out of history.” If you made it past “courtesy of Fred’s two feet,” you’re probably in the 95th percentile of cartoon jingle enthusiasts. I bow to you. This song is one of hundreds that I can start confidently—even loudly—only to flame out before the second verse. Not much follow-through.
Just like teens coming out of our youth ministries. Not in respect to their grasp of all things Hanna-Barbera, but when it comes to their personal follow-through with Christ and His claims on their lives. We’ve all seen the alarming rate of spiritual dropout between high school and college years. You undoubtedly have a few too many personal stories that parallel the stats.
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Of course, this “start strong, flame out” tendency is nothing new. We see it in John 6, where people were still buzzing about Jesus’ miracle with the bread and fish. Jesus then delivered one of His deepest teachings—that He is the bread of life and that we His followers are to eat His flesh and drink His blood.
SCRIPTURE TEXTThis was tough for some to take—and here’s what happened next:
John 6:66–69 (NIV)
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
THINK ABOUT IT
Jesus’ audience in John 6 dwindled from a great multitude to many disciples to the Twelve. Giving the Twelve an out, Jesus asked if they too wanted to leave. I love Peter’s response—in essence, “You had me at eternal life.”
This wasn’t a casual answer. Peter used two key words that appear intertwined throughout John’s Gospel: “life” and “believe” (John 6:68–69). “Life” in John’s Gospel sometimes referred to eternal life and at other times to the abundant life we’re promised here and now.
Both are gifts from God. They’re what we’re wired for—the kind of life Jesus’ wants us to experience and enjoy.
So why would the word “life” be linked with “believe”? To the Greeks, “belief” wasn’t merely intellectual. Their word for “believe” indicated a level of belief that synergized with behavior. If you “believe” in exercise, you’ll get off the couch. If you “believe” in aerodynamics, you’ll hop on a plane and fly across the ocean. If you “believe” in Jesus, the Holy One of God (to cop Peter’s words), you’ll [fill in the blank!].
APPLY ITThe action in that blank is what shows God that we believe—that we have things going on in our lives solely because of the gospel.
Action connected to belief is the difference between starting the cartoon jingle and finishing it. Between being a disciple who “no longer followed” or one of the Twelve who remained with Christ. As our students let their belief show up in their behavior, they’ll experience the real lives they’re wired for. And they’re likely to stay.
John went on to tell why he wrote about the miraculous things Jesus did: “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).
Let’s help our students know what’s written—the miraculous signs that were recorded to help us believe. Let’s help them connect the gospel to real-life behavior—attitudes, reactions, temptations and decisions—that backs true belief. Let’s help keep them from flaming out before the second verse.