What Do You Long For?
Passage
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’” John 6:35
Context
Only a few days before this occurrence, Jesus had fed the crowds miraculously by multiplying the loaves of bread and fish. The crowd has crossed the sea to look for Jesus! They have gone out of their ways to “follow Jesus”, but Jesus rebuked the crowd, He knew the intention of their hearts. Jesus told them they only came to Him because He fed them by miraculously multiplying the food! They were looking for their earthly and mundane desires to be fulfilled by the messiah, by the Christ. They wanted Jesus to be this “genie on a bottle-hero”, that will simply come and satisfy the superficial worldly desires of mankind.
He rebuked them and told them in v. 27, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” They were looking for the things that perish, the things that do not have eternal and infinite results, but rather momentary and instantaneous pleasure. Jesus was interested in an eternal and holistic transformation, that could only come from Him alone, the son of God. The crowd thought it was through some sort of good work that they could do “the works of God”, but Jesus responded in v.29, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” The crowd thought they had to do something in order to gain God’s favor so that their superficial/perishable desires may be given in exchange, but rather Jesus told them to believe in him who the Father has sent! Later He declares Himself to be that very bread from Heaven that their hearts have been longing for ages past, the Bread of life who gives “Life to the world” v33b.
Reflection
How many times have we acted like the crowd? We only come to Him whenever He comes through in our mundane and day to day desires and needs. It is not wrong to desire “bread”, but if “bread” is all that we desire, then we have come short to the purpose on which we were created. We simply become selfish, and only come to Jesus for Him to bring forth what we want, to feed us with our choice of “perishable bread”, we make Him a “showman”, rather than our “Lord” as if we were entitled to be “entertained” by Him! Look at the crowd, even later they demanded of Him, once more, to show them another sign. They were treating Him as an earthly king, one that will bring forth a superficial reign of human splendor, and power, a kingdom that will free them from the Romans, and will bring oppression to their enemies; indeed, a selfish kingdom. But Jesus was not interested in a “selfish-led” kingdom campaign! He was not there to satisfy their selfish desires, but to bring forth the kingdom of the perfect Father.
What is paradoxical is that Jesus in this passage says that “whoever believes in Me shall never thirst” He was talking not only on a physical level (though the crowd seems to interpret His saying as a mere physical need being met), He was talking of a holistic hunger and thirst being met in Jesus Christ Himself. When we eat of Him—Believe in Him and His Words, we are feeding ourselves of eternal freedom, non-perishable freedom. One that not only will bring a physical hunger to an end but also an emotional and spiritual hunger, one that longs to be loved by the creator. One that is finally at peace by believing in the love of a God that chose to become men and carry our burdens and die a death we should have died so that we can enter into an intimate relationship with Him.
Maybe some of us come to Him and draw closer to Him only when “our needs” have been fulfilled in the past, and we complain to Him, when our “ways, wants or needs” are not fulfilled. Now, would you come and trust Him that He is the bread of life? That in Him you truly have all you need? Even when our ways are not met, would you trust Him, that in the midst of your “ways” not been met, He still is the bread of life, and will come through in every situation?
The Question
Will you come to Him only when you need a superficial need to be fulfilled, or would you come to Him, so that the deepest longing of your heart may be fulfilled? Where you will truly never hunger or thirst again, because you know the Father so well. No matter the circumstance. “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” John 6:35
Do not try to figure it out, neither try to work “hard at it”, simply believe in Him today!
