Don't believe the Hype
John 6:66 . After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
Some people love to be part of the hype. Doesn’t matter whether its flip-phones, bleached hair, tik-tok or avocado, if there’s a buzz, they get to the front of the queue. I’ll hold my hands up and admit, I’m susceptible to hype, I’m not afraid of a fad. There have been many times when I’ve found myself swept up in a wave of enthusiasm or excitement over some new novelty that becomes vapour when the next hype comes along. And just to be clear, there’s always a next hype.
But what happens when the hype dies. What happens when enthusiasm and excitement are replaced by a need for faithfulness and perseverance?
Jesus was a hype to some. He was the latest craze. This new teacher in town with a different vibe to the ones at the synagogue, plus he’s dishing out free meals if you book for parties over 4000. There was always a crowd around Jesus, but there were people there who were drawn by the buzz and the excitement. Imagine how fresh and inspiring faith must have been as part of that crowd following Jesus. But when things got real, when things got challenging, when Jesus provoked, they said, what’s next? It blows my mind that despite everything he promised, Jesus had people walk away.
See I honestly believe that faith should be desperately exciting, but it’s about more than what simply keeps us entertained because Jesus wasn’t entertaining enough for some people.
At the start of lockdown I was so hyped about doing an online service, but now the novelty has gone, it’s become the normal, the hypes behind me. And as much as I would have loved for all the energy of the first few weeks of online church to have continued, the last few weeks have taught me how important faithfulness and perseverance are in our journey.
The apostle Paul often wrote about faith being like running a race, its great to start well, but we need to run to win, with an all-in even if attitude to finish well.
See if you’ve felt the excitement dip in your faith recently, don’t panic, you’re not alone, but remember that this is about more than an exciting start, this about faithfulness and perseverance to the very end. And always remember (to quote High School Musical), We’re all in this together. Let’s be people who run well together even when the hype dies.
The reality is people don’t need hype, people need hope. And Jesus is more than a hype, he is hope in any moment for everyone.
My prayer this week is that you will all be filled with renewed energy and a sense of perseverance during this season.