Jesus said a lot of challenging things.  I’ve commented on this before, but I’ll bring it up again: nobody wants to crucify Mr. Rogers.  There’s a point where we have to realize that Jesus wasn’t just a nice man who did nice things.  He said hard stuff, and people who were to be His followers weren’t signing up for the easy route.  True, Jesus said that his burden was light, but that was in reference to the burdensome laws that the Pharisees were placing on the backs of the Jews.  Jesus, however, did challenge people to the point where they wanted to have nothing to do with Him.  If following Christ was easy, wouldn’t the whole world be following even today?  After a sizeable group left, Jesus posed the question to the Twelve: do you want to leave, too?  I love Peter’s response: to whom would we go?  Jesus had given them the answers to life, and Peter recognized that there was nowhere else.  As uncomfortable as following Christ might be, there weren’t any other satisfying choices available.  If not Christ, then what?  We can’t return to the ridiculous laws of the Pharisees.  Nor can we ignore the Truth that we have begun to understand.  The only choice I have is the same one Peter had, too: stick with it.  One of the greatest aspects of following Christ is the promise that He will give us the strength through the Spirit to persevere.