Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” (John 6:67, N.K.J.V.)

A pilot announced to his passengers that three of the plane’s four engines had conked out. A few seconds later he came out of the cockpit, walked to the back of the plane, and put on a parachute. He opened the back door and just before jumping said, “Don’t worry folks, I’m going for help.”

This world is filled with people who will bail out on a difficult circumstance when the going gets tough. And they won’t be going for help, either. Sadly, in too many instances, this even applies to how we Christians follow Jesus.

One of the most somber questions that Jesus ever asked is found in John 6:67. Let me set the context for you. A tremendous crowd of 5,000 men (not counting women and children) gathered around Jesus near the slope of a mountain that hovered over the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus taught them (Mark 6:34), healed their sick (Luke 9:11), and miraculously fed the entire crowd by using a young boy’s lunch of five loaves of bread and two small fish (John 6:5-14).

In the wake of all that teaching and miracle working, the crowd began having thoughts about taking Jesus by force to make Him their earthly king (John 6:15). But Jesus wanted no part of such an election, and so He dispersed the crowd and commanded His twelve apostles to get into a boat and cross over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14:22; Mark 6:45). Then He Himself went up into the mountain alone to pray (Matthew 14:23; Mark 6:46).

That night a terrible windstorm swept down upon the Sea of Galilee, preventing the twelve from making much headway to the opposite shore (Matthew 14:24; John 6:18). Finally, with them exhausted from their rowing (Mark 6:48; John 6:19), Jesus walked on the water to reach them (Matthew 14:25; Mark 6:49-50), joined them in the boat (Mark 6:51), and calmed the storm (Mark 6:51). At that point, the boat was miraculously transported to the other shore (John 6:21). (For the record, this is also the story in which Peter attempts to walk on the water to Jesus: Matthew 14:25-33).

The following morning many of the original crowd of 5,000 got into boats and crossed over the Sea of Galilee to find Jesus (John 6:22-25). They caught up with Him in Capernaum (John 6:24). Shortly afterward, Jesus accused these people of only following Him for the miracles He could do for them (John 6:25-27). Then He launched into a weird teaching about Him being the bread of life and how they needed to eat of His flesh (John 6:28-59). You talk about throwing cold water onto a fickle bunch! When the teaching was finished, many in the crowd — many who had been calling themselves disciples (learners) of Jesus — turned away and never followed Him again (John 6:60-66). Just as He had said, they were only interested in following Him as long as the miracles were rolling and the teachings were pleasant and easy to understand.

It’s at that critical moment that Jesus looked at His twelve apostles and asked them the penetrating question, “Do you also want to go away?” Truth be told, some of them, particularly Judas Iscariot (John 6:70-71), may have. But Peter spoke up before anybody else could answer and said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:68-69). Good for you, Peter!

Tell me, Christian, are you right now going through a difficult time with the Lord? Are you confused? Are you frustrated? Are you out of heart? Trust me, you aren’t the first to go down such a road. The question is, how will you respond? Will you turn back from following Christ? Or will you, like Peter, understand that turning away from Him is akin to turning away from the source of life and truth?

Please understand that I’m not talking about a Christian possibly losing his or her salvation. As the old saying goes, “once saved, always saved.” What I’m talking about is breaking fellowship with the Lord and bailing out on what He is trying to teach you through your difficult times. Such a bailout might provide a modicum of temporary relief, but in the end you’ll come to know all too well that you should have stayed on the plane or in the boat with your Savior.