It’s a privilege to hear from Pamela Polanco this week! If you want to learn a bit more about her, just stop by the contributor’s page.
When I was younger, my family visited a book fair. That day, the Dominican president was autographing books for small children. I was little, but my mom recalls that she never felt safer (especially considering all the agents and officers protecting the president and the young audience as he signed books). Interestingly, we tend to long for safety and seek different ways to find it. From a spiritual perspective, we don’t always see that there can be no safety for us outside Christ.
During Jesus’ ministry, the disciples’ loyalty was tested. “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:67-68). When Peter answered Jesus, he didn’t hesitate or stall. He was confident that there was no safety outside of Christ.
This passage is a sad yet reassuring portion of the scriptures. Just a few verses before, we read that some people deserted the Master after being confronted with the Truth. I imagine some of them walked among the disciples but did not quite know Him like the twelve did. The disciples knew Who He was. They knew what He could do. They knew Him.
Those who deserted the Lord learned that Jesus’ idea of the future was not what they envisioned. Their judgment was clouded, so the world looked more appealing. Likewise, the world shows us options that look attractive —irresistible even. However, those options take us on a downward path far from our Lord. And, slowly but surely, we also end up leaving our Master’s side.
Frankly, it would be unreasonable to think that we can be safe apart from Christ. It is unwise to entertain the notion that we can be our own source of security. When the disciples walked with Jesus, they encountered danger like never before, yet they also experienced God’s reassuring presence in an extraordinary way. Certainly, God guards us when we walk with Him.
So, if you are not in Christ, let me encourage you to meet Him; you cannot fathom how He would guard you. And, if you are born-again, let me remind you to grow closer to Him —there is no safer place for you to be. Humanly speaking, we can feel discouraged when we see the wicked prosper or the righteous suffer.
However, our hope as believers is that God is with us no matter what we face. Truly, we ought to marvel that we are privileged to have a relationship with our Savior than can triumph over all our human experiences and expectations. In times of trouble or happiness, when life is promising or when danger awaits us, we are safe in Christ.
To whom shall we go? to our Savior’s arms. Always, daily. Thankfully, we know He’ll keep us safe until the Day of Redemption.
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