There is a quote from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring that has always been appealing to me: “Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens”. My appreciation is in the truth of the sentiment – those who are unwilling to walk the road with their friends when the way becomes painful and hard, are no companions at all.
Luke 22 presents us with foreshadowing of this very scenario: all of Jesus’ companions will flee from him, and his own friends will deny ever knowing him. The one and eternal King, the one above whom none ever deserved more loyalty and honor, will be abandoned by all. Yet, after telling Peter of his future betrayal, Jesus says the most amazing thing: “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not”. God incarnate is praying for Peter KNOWING that he will deny him. As the story unfolds, we see that although everyone does indeed abandon Christ, he does not abandon His own. Though every disciple fled, though Peter denied and cursed, yet none of the eleven was abandoned to the fate they deserved. The subsequent pages show repentance, and a love and forgiveness given to sinful men that drove them to the ends of the earth proclaiming good news.
So the question is, where are we looking for good news? Is it to ourselves – our own wisdom, strength, finances, or relationships to lift the burden of brokenness and guilt? Is it others, government, the world? All these things are transient, slowly but surely passing away. May we be like the blind men at Jericho who, when they heard Jesus was coming, would not cease to cry out his name until he answered them (Matt. 20:29-34). For the unbeliever, cry out for faith; for the Christian, cry out “help my unbelief”. He is compassionate to those who call upon His name. He knows our failings from before the forming of the world, but his blood is sufficient to cover all our transgressions (Hebrews 10), and even now He intercedes for his own (Romans 8:34) just as he interceded for Peter.
Thousand Mile Walk 