Daily Devotional for January 2

 

January 2                                                           John 6:35-51

In today's passage, Jesus, you confront us with one of the cen-
tral mysteries of our Christian life. You claim that you are the
bread of life, a bread which imparts eternal life. If we eat this
bread, we will never die.

Sometimes I wonder if there really is an afterlife. My mind
has grown so accustomed to logical proofs that I gradually slip
into skepticism. Because some of my church's tenets have been
wrong in the past, I question even its most basic teachings,
including its teachings about life after death. Thousands of
deaths from AIDS, including the deaths of some of my friends,
have brought me to the brink of despair. God, where are you?

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and other authors tell us that their
experiences with death and dying confirm their belief in a life
after death. These "out of the body" and "near death"
encounters, like your own Resurrection, are signs which
bolster my tottering faith. And I remember your words to
Martha when you raised her brother Lazarus to life: "I am the
resurrection and the life; those who believe in me, though they
die, yet shall they live, and whoever lives and believes in me
shall never die." (John 11:25-26)

I believe in you, Jesus. I believe that the physical death of the
body is not final. I believe that God, who raised you from the
dead, will also raise us up on the last day. I believe in this
fullness of life that you have promised. Help me in my
moments of unbelief. Amen.

​

From The Road to Emmaus - An inclusive devotional Edited by Joseph W. Houle

Emmaus House of Prayer - Washington D.C