John 6 – October 17

John 6:2 says, “a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.” Later, after the whole multitude was miraculously fed, Jesus said in John 6:26, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” It seems their reason for following Jesus has changed. Instead of it being because they knew He was sent by God and they needed to get to know His ways, now it was because they were getting their needs met by Him. I wonder how many start off with faith in Christ that is focused right, but after time gets sidetracked. A person may realize they are lost and need a Savior so in faith and in love they devote their life to Jesus Christ, but after time sometimes things change. A person may begin to take for granted what Christ did and begin to focus on their wants and their needs again. Jesus said to the people in John 6:27-29 “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." The “work” God has called us to is to really believe Jesus Christ and live our life according to that faith. We shouldn’t pursue what we want and try to add Him to it, or try to appropriate His promises as we pursue our own desires. It’s possible to start with a faith that says, “I trust You with my life and I’m going to follow You” to a faith that only says, “I trust you to take care of me and provide for me and get me to heaven one day.”