John 8:48-59

John 8:48-59
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 You can sense the people pushing up against the eternal here.  Their minds, limited by time and experience, aren't quite able to grasp what Jesus is saying -- he's pointing to the reality of God that exists beyond what we can see and hear and experience, and the people are struggling to go with him, because to truly understand this it requires a leap of faith and trust.
  Even now, looking back and knowing that Jesus has risen from the dead, knowing all the prophecies that have come true and how the church has endured and triumphed through the years, we still wrestle with the leap of trust required to believe that Jesus Christ IS God, that he exists in a place beyond time and space and invites us into an eternal reality and life-giving relationship that is completely different and yet similar to the goodness and love we experience here on earth.
  How do we live into this trusting relationship?  We build it, day by day, leaning into the grace and love and peace of God.  It doesn't always come at once -- but happens slowly, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and we slowly discover the leadership of God, growing deeper each and every day until one day we awake into the eternal reality of the Kingdom of God.