Friday, September 9, 2016
John 6:27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING FOR?
Many of the people Jesus was speaking to in Capernaum on this occasion had been on the other side of the Sea of Galilee the day before. They had been among the thousands Jesus had fed with a small boy’s lunch of bread and fish. Their response after that miracle had been an effort to make Jesus their king, a Bread-King. They were not excited at the thought that the World's Redeemer (Messiah!) had come into the world. They were excited at the thought of no longer having to work for their food.
So the next day on the steps of the Capernaum synagogue Jesus tells them that the focus of their lives is in the wrong place. They had made the things of this life their number one priority and had made everything else secondary, including God and His promises and the Son He sent to give them eternal life. There's a warning here for us, isn't there? Most of our society agrees with the people to whom Jesus is preaching, and we are tempted to follow suit. After all, isn't it perfectly normal to make earning a living and providing for one's family our number one concern in life?
To that question Jesus says, "No! Do not work for food that spoils." Our first concern should not be sustaining bodily life. We (and our families) have an even greater need. We need the One who says, "I AM the Bread of Life." We need Jesus and a living faith-relationship with Him more than anything else. That life lasts forever. And, by the way, Jesus promises all who have Him as their number one priority everything else they may need as well (Matthew 6:33).
We need to work, that's true. But our paycheck, our bank account, our home, our car, and yes, our groceries, are not ends in themselves. They are not that for which we strive above all else. We have something far more valuable. As Christ-believers we have Jesus, and in Him the riches of God's grace.
