Day 8: More than Bread

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.¹⁴ After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

John 6:12-15

Today’s Scripture Reading: John 6:1-15, Psalm 145

What if God never provided a single miraculous act in our life that we ever hoped and prayed for? Would we still believe in Him? Would we still be able to follow him in faith? There are many circumstances in our lives where God remains silent to certain prayers. We are wondering when and how God will answer our prayers. Many of the time, we are hoping he would answer our prayers my way versus His way.

The people in the crowd in whom Jesus provides bread and fish to eat are hoping for and expecting a king who would bring them more of just that – bread and fish. They praise him for his provisions and desire to declare him as a great prophet who has come into the world to bring political and provisional strength in an otherwise hard time of oppression in a Roman regime. But Jesus withdraws from this sort of attention. But why? Jesus detests their acclamation.

If you have ever given food to seagulls before, once you let them know you have food they would keep coming to you. More of them come and begin to surround you and begin to squawk at you until you give it up. What was meant to be an act of sharing with them quickly becomes unwanted attention. The seagulls feel no sense of admiration for you, nor do they grow to love you. They love the bag of chips you are holding and no more to it. In a spiritual matter then, is this how our faith is with the Lord? When he provides, gives us a miracle, or shows us a sign, we are more inclined to worship Him and praise Him. But the real matter is, are we worshipping God or the things of God?

Jesus wants us to love him not just for what he did for us, and what he has given us in his blood and resurrection, but that we would also begin to recognize just who He is. He wants us to know him not just the provider of bread, but that he is better than all of that – he is the bread of life. Not puffed and filled with air, but filled with awe and wonder. The Israelites had no idea who they were beholding. Jesus was not merely the bread maker. He was the Son of God – the maker of what was the grain, water, eggs, yeast and air that formed the bread.

Today, seek the Lord not for his things. Instead, seek him for who He is. Even if you only discover a sliver of how great He is, may that overwhelm and transform you and bring you to be in awe and wonder of His magnificence, Grace and power.