According to John, Chapter 8

John 8

If you've never really read through John's gospel before, you are probably beginning to understand why it took me so long to really appreciate it. 
It is difficult to understand. It is so much more than a record of miracles, events, and sayings of Jesus. 

I feel like a modern day Jesus would have to have a lecture series on confirmation bias. In today's reading, Jesus is pretty much saying, "You don't believe what I'm teaching, because you don't want to believe it."
Accepting that what we believe might be wrong is a very difficult thing, especially when we've pretty much built our life's work around it. (Again, ask me how I know.)

I want to be a learner. Learners are continually seeking new information and new perspectives on old information. Often we discover things that contradict what we've previously thought or believed. In the decades that took place between the actual events of John's gospel and the writing of it, many Jews shifted their beliefs about God, heaven, hell, eternity, etc., based on the teachings of Jesus and his followers. I can imagine that these shifts towards Jesus as the promised Messiah created some great difficulties for them. They were probably ridiculed and eventually shunned by people they loved like family and friends. Even though they found themselves closer to God, they were very much alone. If you have watched somebody else go through that, it makes it even more difficult for others to follow.

Things haven't changed much in two thousand years. Confirmation bias tends to keep people right where they are -- This is the truth and you can't teach me anything different!
That is the attitude that led to Jesus being crucified by the very people he lived with and loved.

Contrary to popular convention, I think it's healthy to examine our beliefs from the perspective of -- What if I'm wrong?
Today's John (me, not the gospel guy) would have to look at my past self and realize that I taught some things that I'm no longer sure of. I am sorry about that.
I am also much more careful about what I teach or share now. While I am more than willing to share my perspectives and my current way of thinking, I am also careful to do it in a way that generates thought and discussion rather than conversion. 

Do I still want you to know and follow Jesus?
Absolutely!

Do I still want you to believe in God?
Jesus says that eternal life is in knowing God, so yes, absolutely!

Do I still think that your knowing God and following Jesus is my responsibility?
Not so much.

Yesterday a friend of mine introduced me to a friend of hers. She seemed to find great pleasure in introducing two people that she liked to each other. That's kind of how I feel about you getting to know Jesus. I don't know if you are going to be friends with Jesus. That's pretty much up to the two of you. But I would like for you to get to know one another. That's why I'm doing this daily devotion kind of posting.

Although it really started out to help a single friend get back on track to knowing Jesus, it has also put me in a position of re-examining my own relationship with God/Jesus and it reminds me that I should share this feeling of peace and love with others. I really don't believe this is the best forum for sharing God's love, but it is what I have available to me short of going out and actually being around people.
Also, this is a pretty limited forum with a very limited following. 

If you think it would be helpful in your introducing others to Jesus, feel free to share it. It might serve as a conversation starter if nothing else.

To sum up today's reading, I'd simply say don't be so sure of your position that you are unable to look at it from a different perspective. Don't be afraid to learn something new.
To borrow a line from chapter 4's woman at the well, "Come and see a man, ... Could this be the Christ?"

John