John 6:66-67  Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?”

Jesus’ teachings were not always easy for the disciples to accept, once they grasped their meaning.  Some found it too difficult, and stopped following Him.

Oswald Chambers, in “My Utmost for His Highest,” wrote, “Many people today are pouring their lives out and working for Jesus Christ, but are not really walking with him.”

That sentence has given me great pause.

I think even followers of Jesus can be pouring their lives out for Him, yet not be walking with Him.  Some of us can be so busy doing the Lord’s work, that we don’t make time to be with the Lord.

Our Savior Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”  (Titus 2:14)  Christ’s death should give us a passion for doing good deeds.   Christians are not merely to avoid evil, but to pursue good.  (John Piper, “The Passion of Jesus Christ”)

But our pursuit of good should not overshadow our daily walk with Him.  Not only because that is part of our equipping for the work He has prepared for us to do while we are here.  But becaause our time spent talking with Him, listening to Him – it’s what fills us up.  What keeps us going.  What gives us joy.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.  Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.  So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. Amen (Psalm 63:1-5)