Today I ran across an exchange between Jesus and his follower and friend, Peter. In John 6, Jesus teaches some difficult things, including the necessity of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Some in the crowd say, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Then we read: “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”

Jesus said many hard things. Some are difficult concepts to grasp. Take these for example:

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).

Other sayings are hard not because we don’t understand, but because we do. The demands they place on us seem too great. Take, for instance, the following:

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you ?” (Matthew 5:43).

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).

Many people believe Christianity is for the weak-minded or for those needing an emotional crutch. What they don’t understand is those who bear the name Christian in its truest sense are people who have made a costly choice. Flannery O’Connor wrote, “What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course, it is the cross. It is much harder to believe than not to believe.”

So I ask you, Dr. Agnostic and Professor Skeptic, to consider the Christian faculty and students in your classes and departments. Think of them not as those who have been duped by religion, but rather as those who have made great sacrifice in pursuit of truth. And show them a little respect, because I bet they are praying for you, and you know, they probably love you, too.

By the way, after many of his followers left, Jesus turned to his chosen 12 and asked if they, too, were going to leave. Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

I end with the words of a song from my youth, “You know by now why the chosen are few, it’s harder to believe than not to … I believe.”

Jeremy Hamilton is on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. You may e-mail him at jeremy.hamilton@studentjourney.org.

My son Elijah is 2

This weekend many will celebrate a special holiday with a significant other (or is it a significant holiday with a special other?).

But perhaps just as many people will loathe that upcoming holiday.

Let me share with you a poem inspired by Valentines Day that I wrote when I was a student at SDSU:

It’s come and gone this day of Cupid.Here I sit alone and stupid. I wonder if the day will comeWhen Cupid’s arrow pricks my thumb.

That one won’t be appearing in your literature class any time soon.

It’s a silly few lines, but perhaps they represent the feelings of many students.

A second group of students is wondering “what does she want for Valentines Day?”

A third group of students (equal in number to group two) is wondering “Will the idiot give me something I want this year?”

I hope what follows is helpful to all three groups.

There is a story about Jesus in John 4. If you are in group one watch for the emptiness that can exist in relationships.

If you fit group two notice that you can see what women really want.

And for those of you in group three try to think past your wants and grasp what you really need. It’s a long story so I’ll summarize briefly.

Jesus and the disciples were traveling through Samaria, home of a people despised by Jews. Jesus sits down by a well and sends the disciples into town to get some lunch.

A Samaritan woman approaches. This woman has a troubled history of 5 marriages and is currently living with a man who is not her husband. She doesn’t want to talk to the women of her village, and certainly not a Jewish man.

Jesus had a remarkable conversation with this woman that began with “Will you give me a drink?”

She hesitates, confused by the brazenness of this Jewish man.

In response to her hesitation Jesus says “If you knew … who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

He goes on to say “… whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”

Now that is exciting!

Perhaps her physical needs can be met without laboring under the midday sun.

However, Jesus isn’t speaking about water that satisfies the body, rather water that satisfies the spirit.

To get her thinking about deeper needs Jesus makes a request that points out her life’s pain and disappointment: “Go, call your husband and come back.”

Next the conversation reveals that Jesus knows much about the woman’s personal history, and she acknowledges him as a prophet.

In an effort to deny the pain and move on she attempts to distract Jesus with a theological question dealing with the Jews’ and Samaritans’ centers of worship.

Jesus is not distracted but again invites her to think about spiritual needs by answering her question and defining true worship.

After facing her failed relationships being confronted by her unsatisfying spiritual life is just too much. She has one final hope of ending the ordeal.

“I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Jesus replies, “I who speak to you am he.”

She believes. And she goes on to tell the people of her town-the same people she was desperately avoiding only moments before. And many of them believe, too.

The woman in this story wanted to be loved, but I don’t think she knew just how deeply she needed to be loved.

I think many of us are like the Samaritan woman. We think we know what we want, but we don’t recognize what we truly need.

We seek satisfaction, belonging, success, comfort or a hundred other things, and we seek them in the physical realm.

Look at the things university students pursue-alcohol, sex, physical perfection, extreme thrills, fast cars and high paying careers.

In a decade or two those pursuits might become recovery from alcoholism, a new flame, grasping youth, expensive thrills, expensive cars, high profile careers.

And if you ignore the spiritual needs in your life both now and in decades to come you will never be satisfied. Peace, joy, contentment, they will become the stuff of fairy tales, unbelievable “happily ever afters.”

So as you enjoy (or eschew) the activities surrounding Valentines Day, please don’t allow your wants to distract you from your needs.

And if you begin to recognize in yourself the kind of spiritual thirst found in the woman at the well, consider trying the living water offered by Jesus.

Jeremy Hamiton is a campus staff member with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. You can e-mail him at jeremy.hamilton@studentjourney.org.

I had an embarrassing moment Friday night … almost. Let’s just say that when the button on your pants breaks and you are about to emcee a public event you begin to wonder, “What would McGyver do in a situation like this?”

On what must have been my fifth attempt I made a paper clip and rubber band do a button’s job.

Here’s why I’m talking about my pants. We all have an embarrassing little problem. The Bible says in Ezekiel 11:19 that we have hearts made of stone.

Now that you have briefly been exposed to the lesson of this article, let me tell you more about my pants. The button that broke was not the original button. The first button was a nice metal riveted model. It was a beauty, but this summer it gave out-the rivet popped. I tossed the pants to the corner of my bedroom thinking I would just find another button and sew it on sometime.

“Sometime” turned into about two months. Finally, I scavenged a button, not as nice as the metal one, mind you, but I had a button. It was plastic and only had two holes (when I was certain a four-hole button was needed), but at least my favorite cargos were back in the rotation. That was about three weeks ago.

That’s right, I only got three weeks out of that lousy button.

But things are different now. This time the button came from Grandma’s button box. It is at least twice as thick as the deceased button, and the color is a much better match. And this time my wife did the sewing. What could go wrong?

Here’s what could go wrong. I might continue to miss the big picture. I need to admit there is a problem. I need to lose some weight. The reason my buttons are failing is that my middle is prospering.

In a similar manner we all need to admit there is a problem. We, as members of the human race, are not good people. In fact we are capable of great wickedness. Are the Rwandan people who slaughtered 800,000 people in 100 days in the 1994 genocide so different than me? Is it possible we are capable of the murder, torture and rape committed by the Hussein brothers? What makes us so different than Stalin or even Hitler? It’s sad to admit, but we share the same hard hearts these people all had.

But there is good news. The same passage in Ezekiel (11:19-20) tells us that God will turn our hearts to flesh. “…And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.”

If you recognize that your heart is made of stone take comfort in this verse. 18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. 19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them. (Psalm 145:18-19).

Jeremy Hamilton is a campus staff member with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. You can e-mail him at jeremy.hamilton@studentjourney.org.

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