Raise Them Up

Then the Jews began to complain about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” John 6:41-51 

There are times in my life when I have been so low it feels like gravity is heavier than ever. We can all feel like we have too many burdens, sinking low with all we have to bear. Losses of all sorts make us wonder how far down really is. We human beings can be so overhwlemed at times we lose our sense of direction and purpose. Yet, we are never alone, although we regularly fail to ask for help. We isolate rather than communicate.

Jesus is in trouble with the authorities, as usual. His leadership and authority is questioned because he is from an average normal family who they know. They think their judgement is all they need. They believe they know enough to always be right. None of us knows enough to judge the other. Often rumors rather than truth destroy us. We fail, over and over, to trust God's judgement and truth. We are invited today to cast all our burdens on the One who promises to lift us up - from our daily burdens and fears and from the depths of our sadness and hurt. We are never alone in any and every challenge.

Today I ask God to help me live trusting in God's promise to raise us up, now and always. May we cast our burdens and cares on the One who promises to raise us up and never leave us in the deepest pit.