Jesus knew this pressure of being needed and followed and pursued. A few verses before our next verse of thanks, Jesus actually used a tactic that many of us parents have used to separate with a little less drama (to our ears and eyes - - not to those we leave our loved ones with most likely). He "withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone" (John 6:15). This pursuit of alone time is between two very well known miracles by the hands (and feet) of our Lord Jesus. On the forefront is the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 (from my last post). The miracle that follows is Jesus' walking on the water. These are both faith building, proof revealing events that Jesus used to teach His disciples and His followers (that we will learn were suffering from some separation anxiety themselves).
The crowd of Jesus followers, realizing that Jesus had gone but not understanding how he had left the seashore, decided to pursue Him.
"There came other small boats from Tiberias near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, 'Rabbi, when did you get here?'" John 6:23 (and 24-25)
Jesus then teaches them not to seek after "food which perishes" but "food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give" (John 6:27). You see, He fed them by a miracle from His Father (grace) with food that sustains physical life. Just as, through Moses, God fed the Children of Israel in the wilderness with manna from heaven (Exodus 16:4) to sustain their physical bodies. But, here, Jesus is teaching them of the "bread of life" (John 6:35), He Himself, who is the food that endures to eternal life.
When they asked Him what they should do to receive this work from God, Jesus told them to "believe in Him whom He has sent." (John 6:29)
"For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." John 6:33
God's grace cares for our physical bodies AND God's grace offers each of us the opportunity for eternal life in Heaven through faith in His Only Son, Jesus Christ.
Just like little children long to be with their parents (and sometimes suffer from separation anxiety) we long to be with our Father in heaven because He gives us comfort, care, nurture and love. He made us with that deep desire to be near Him. In His loving grace, He sent us Jesus to bridge the gap between our sin-stained lives on earth and our holy lives in heaven - the bread of life - to give life to the world that we may be near Him in eternity.
This passage in the gospel of John (6:23) is the only one to recall this small detail of the deep desire of these followers to be near Jesus. The only one to recall the thanks that Jesus gave to His Father in heaven for the multiplied loaves. I praise God for this detail remembered because it brought me to the understanding of how by faith in Jesus - the bread of life - He lives in me and draws me continually to long for my Father in heaven. I am but a little child in desperate need of the comfort and care and desire to please my Abba Father (Strong's Greek: Abba - "Father," also used as the term of tender endearment by a beloved child - i.e. in an affectionate, dependent relationship with their father; "daddy"). By that longing, He has taught me to pursue daily alone time with Him in His Word (reading the Bible) and in prayer (my coffee time with God) to build our relationship to something that I cannot live without. Here on earth and on into eternity. God has given me the gift of separation anxiety - Christ alive in me!
"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20
"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b
No comments:
Post a Comment