Now I know this is a weird title but, give me a minute and it will all make sense. In my prayer and meditation time I read John 6. Some of you may be familiar with this passage of scripture. It is where God feeds the 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread. I have heard the story of this miraculous work of God a million times. But, never actually understood its purpose until this morning. I saw this scripture in a whole new light.
John 6:26 Jesus answered, I am telling you the truth: you are looking for me because you ate the bread and had all you wanted, not because you understood my miracles. Do not work for food that spoils; instead, work for the food that lasts for eternal life. This is the food which the Son of Man will give you, because God, the Father, has put his mark of approval on him. Jesus said listen people, you are chasing after me for the wrong reason! You just watched me take two fish and five loaves of bread and feed five thousand people. It was an all you can eat buffet, with leftovers, to me that was nothing. That is not why God sent me. You missed the whole point! This only symbolizes what God has for you in His kingdom. If you follow me, I am the bread of life. You will never go hungry again. Love me for who I am not what I can do for you. It's not the food I fed you with physically that you should follow, but the spiritual bread (the words I speak) that you should follow. If you follow me because of what you saw, your belief will quickly fade. I am not a magician, I don't preform tricks. I perform miracles, there is a difference.
God doesn't what to be a quickly fading trend in our lives. He wants to be the head, the center, a permanent fixture. So it caused me to ask myself this question, Why am I following God? Is it because of the THINGS He's blessed me with? Or, is it because Jesus died so that I can have eternal life? These verses put a lot of things in perspective for me. It is easy to get caught up in the blessings of God (material things). This is where you run the risk of losing it all. Don't get me wrong, praise God from whom all blessings flow! However, don't get so caught up in those "things" that you lose sight of who the main focus is. If the "things" He is blessing you with become a distraction in your walk with Him, guess what? He will allow all those "things" to be taken away and you will have no other choice but, to look to the hills. The miracles are a result of you trusting and having faith in God not a reason to do so. Believing Matthew 19:26 “With human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” .
In John 19:35, God says I am the bread of life, Jesus told them. Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty. Now, I told you that you have seen me but will not believe. Everyone whom my Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me, because I have come down from heaven to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me. And it is the will of him who sent me that I should not lose any of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them all to life on the last day. For what my Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in him should have eternal life. And I will raise them to life on the last day. God is saying take the time to understand why I came. Study my word, the Book of Life. I am the bread of life. If you eat and drink of me (follow me and study my word) you will have eternal life.
Eternal life should be our goal. Not the material things on Earth. Again I say, these things happen as a result of being a good and faithful servant, not a reason to be a good and faithful servant. Eternal life is what we should seek in God.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come to you this morning thanking you for that spiritual check. We repent for being blinded by the blessing, being side tracked by the miracle and missing the message. Father, we understand that these things are results of a relationship with you not a reason to have the relationship. So God renew our minds today Lord so we are constantly focused on you Lord and not the things going on around us. Thank you Lord for blessing us and preforming miracles in our lives. Thank you for reminding us that it has nothing to do with us, but because we are your children we are showered with your blessings and witnesses of your miracles. In Jesus name, Amen.
The miracles and blessings are there as reminders, just like test and trials are scars. When you are going through a storm, you should be able to look back over your life and previous circumstances and say, I know if He did it then, and He can and He will do it again. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Serve God and bless His people with what you have been blessed with. In Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Establish a relationship with Him and because you do so, you are an heir to His throne. You are going to be blessed.
Do not forget to show kindness to strangers, for by doing so some have shown kindness to angels without knowing it...Hebrews 13:2
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