John 8:21-30

John 8:21-30
English Standard Version (ESV)

 Sometimes, it's easier to understand Jesus by looking back at him.  In the moment, listening to him say these things must have been confusing for the people, but now, looking back through the lens of crucifixion, it makes sense when he says that he is going someplace that people cannot follow.  Jesus was going to absorb the sins of humanity while sacrificing his perfect life on a cross, a penalty that only he could pay in order to redeem humanity and enable us to enter the Kingdom of God.  Only Jesus could do this, and it makes sense to us now.  At the time, though, the people didn't understand, but many still believed.
  I suspect the same is true in your life.  It likely is in mine -- there are things that God is doing that I don't understand.  Jesus is at work, and decades from now I'll probably look back and wonder why I didn't understand at the time.  But in the moment, it isn't always clear.  That's part of why a faith community is so important -- they help us discern what God is up to.  But like the people who believed then, it's so important to trust God -- to trust that God is doing something and doing something good, that the power and grace of God are sufficient to lead you through this moment, and to know that God is on the move in the here and now, calling you deeper and pointing forward into a future that may seem uncertain to you and I, but it is within the hand of God, so it is a good, good place.  Remember - the darkness cannot conquer the light!!!