In John 6 Jesus
feeds the 5,000, then walks across the lake, calms a storm, and lands on the
far shore, just in time to be greeted by the same crowd of people. They are all wondering how he got there, and
He gave them this beautifully blunt and un-politically correct response, "You
aren't looking for me" He said, "because
you want to believe, you are looking for me because you want a free meal." ~ CPV (Charlie Paraphrased Version)
You have to love
Jesus way with words. He never pulled
any punches or told a crowd what they
wanted to hear, instead He went straight to the heart of the matter.
I am tempted to
dwell on His blunt and rather offensive manner of speaking (we are so quick to take offense that I think we would write Jesus off as unloving if he were walking the earth today), but is what
followed that really caught my attention.
He said "Do not work for the food
that perishes, but work for the food which endures to eternal life."
It is a simple
reminder that goes along with what Jesus said in Matthew 6. - "Seek
first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things (speaking
of basic necessities like food and clothing)
will be given to you."
How often do we kill
ourselves working to make the mortgage payment, or to pay the electricity bill,
or to make the car payment, or to pay
the mechanic just keep the poor old thing running for a few more months. How much time have I spent stressing out over our looming loss of insurance coverage, even contemplating giving up ministry to keep insurance!? How many of my peers have I watched work harder for the things
that aren't necessities, Internet
access, apple products, smart phone plans, ballet lessons & travel basketball fees for junior,
and that vacation they've always wanted…
Jesus effectively
said, "don't work for temporary things,
work for eternal things." &
"Seek Me first and I'll take care of the rest".
Do I trust Him enough to actually
live that way?
Give me your feed back. Have you put these words of Jesus into practice? Why/How or Why not?
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