Seeking God
- Jeff Kent
- 14 hours ago
- 2 min read
Over the years, people have sought after God for various and sundry reasons, many of which were self-centered and for personal gain. In our text, Jesus speaks with the crowd of five thousand whom He had just fed with the loaves and fishes. They had followed Him back to the other side of Lake Galilee and were perplexed about how He had made the trip across to the other side. Jesus ignores their inquiry about His traveling methods and answers with this: “...you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” They didn’t want the Lord and weren’t particularly interested in who He was. Jesus wanted to give them “the food which endures to eternal life,” but they just wanted food for their bellies!
So many today are like those in this crowd. They want something from God but aren’t interested in God Himself. Perhaps it’s a healing for an illness. Maybe a better job. Protection from enemies. Family problem. When the trouble is passed, and there is relief, God is discarded. The gift is welcomed; the Giver is forgotten.
This scenario can also be played out when it comes to salvation, because people don’t understand the nature of salvation nor all that’s involved. Too many folks think salvation is like “fire insurance” - just get baptized, you’ll be saved, and that’s basically all there is to it. Parents are often guilty of thinking this way about their children and push them “into the water” before they are ready.
Faith and baptism certainly place an individual into a saved state, but they do much more. They place them “into Christ,” into the kingdom of God. They receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who lives within them and guides them through life. They are reconciled to God, no longer enemies with the Almighty but His children. This all speaks of fellowship, personal knowledge and close relationship. God said this to Israel: “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13). It is God whom we should seek - our Creator, our heavenly Father. He will give us blessing and peace. But we should seek Him just so we can know Him.
><> Jeff
Comments