Dear fellow redeemed by Christ, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." These are the very words of our Lord. They are poignant words. But have you ever really stopped to think about them at all, even in the slightest?

There are people out there who would call themselves Christians (and some perhaps rightly so) who would like you to believe—and even tell you right out—that they are Christian because of something they have done. They claim Jesus Christ as their Lord (or better yet, their "personal Savior") because they have made Him that way. Yet, here He is, the One they claim that they have made Lord, saying something which goes against their creed. It even attacks it at the very core. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him."

While the NIV (and most English translations) do well by this verse, we may hear the English and not grasp the full strength of what Jesus is saying. And strength is an appropriate word here. St. John uses an interesting word in this verse which most translators have translated as "draw." We hear that and many would think, "Okay, I'm lured to God." Sure, that sounds great, and why wouldn't we be lured to Him. He offers so much...He may ask for a lot in return, but grants so much in spite of that through the merit of Jesus Christ. St. John is not saying that God is dangling a carrot in front of us which leads us to His Son. No, the word St. John uses can also be translated drag, as if there is some coercion or coaxing going on.

Imagine, if you will, a stubborn dog. You need to take it to the vet, and it knows it! When you arrive at the vet's office, you have to pull the dog by the scruff of the neck out of your car or truck. You have the leash on, but the dog is not walking. Instead, it has its legs straight out, joints locked, and is pulling against you. It does not want to go to the vet, even though the visit is necessary.

We are like the dog. God drags us by the scruffs of our necks to Jesus. We kick, scream, fight, and drag our feet in opposition to this. Deny it as you will, for that is the struggle of the sinner-saint. Thanks be to God that He has brought us to the salvation of His Son. That new life of salvation that we have been given in Baptism indeed seeks out Christ and desires the gifts He offers, but there exists still a struggle between that new life and the old Adam, the desires of the sinful flesh.

Yet, there are those who still believe they had some (or the entire) part in their salvation. They "found" Jesus. They "asked Him into their lives." They "came to" Jesus. The focus is always on what they did, not what God has done for them. Then, there are those who have made this "decision," started attending some church, and were Baptized, in which God worked faith and may even nurture that faith by the hearing of the Word. Still, there are others who make the claim of making Jesus their Lord and never attend church, resisting the Father's drag to bring them to where Jesus says He is: in His Church.

That is the temptation with which the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh plagues us. Those of us sitting here are not immune to it. Just wait until your next long Saturday night; nine o'clock Sunday will arrive and it will be tough to resist the temptation to stay in bed. Perhaps some of us battled that temptation this morning. Or perhaps it was a super- long and stressful week, from which you think only an extended weekend will help you to recover and so you are tempted to skip the services of God's Word and Sacrament.

The devil, the world, and our sinful flesh will try to tell us that we don't need organized religion. They will try to tell us that we don't need the Church or Christ and His Word and Sacraments. They will try to tell us that all we need is ourselves and a decent life; that these things will get us through this life and count for something in whatever life there is to come. They will try to tell us that as long as we believe in something, no matter what it is or however outlandish it seems, it's alright as long as we believe strongly and don't interfere with the beliefs of someone else.

These are the assaults we face daily. They tug at us just as God the Father drags us in the opposite direction. They tempt us to pull back on the leash so that we may break it and resist and reject God and His grace. These things appeal to us; they look and sound good. Getting a little extra sleep on Sunday mornings to recoup definitely sounds appealing, even if it is at the expense of missing Church this one Sunday. Then, next Sunday, going on that fishing or hunting trip sure sounds like something fun to do. Just one little time sounds so innocent, but it can easily and quickly escalate into a recurring pattern. And so that I don't confuse anyone, this is different than missing an occasional service because an honorable, God-given vocation or an illness prohibits someone from meeting Jesus where He says He is.

But if we truly believe as we just confessed, then we believe that a Christian needs to be dragged to the services of God's house. Condensed, we just confessed, "I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic or Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection of the body." What does this mean? "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him," something corroborated by today's Gospel, "but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers." Apart from God and His church we can do and we are nothing. If we believe that we can make it without the church—as the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh wish we would—then we have despised preaching and God's Word, as the third commandment tells us.

Still, our Father in Heaven drags us by the scruffs of our necks to His holy house, where He offers us forgiveness, life, and salvation. The things of the world look appealing, much like the manna that the Jews' forefathers ate in the wilderness and died. Just like the manna, the things of the world do not fill and lead to death. Our Father drags us to the things of His Son, the Bread of Life. Those who eat the Bread of Life will never die.

It is in this house where God meets His people; this is where He said He would. It is in this house where God offers and gives His gifts to His people, the things that our new lives in Baptism eagerly desire, the things we need to survive the assaults of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. The extra sleep and fishing or hunting trips may help to renew us, but the gifts and Sacraments of God do indeed renew us, strengthen us, and prepare us to face another round of assaults by those things which appeal to our Old Adam.

But, there's more that the grace of God prepares us for. Jesus says, "This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." When Christ was hanging on the cross, bleeding, God died and conquered death. Jesus gives us His body and blood so that we may have life—that those who eat it may never die. Though there may come a time when our bodies may fail us, though we may die, through Christ's blood and merit, we have eternal life. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." Our confession earlier concludes, "On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true."