Work: A Gift of God
“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” John 6:27
Jesus had fed the five thousand just the day before. Now the crowd excitedly gathers around Him when He returns to Capernaum. They want to make Him their king – a Bread King. They are making what is temporary the “main thing.” So Jesus speaks to them plainly, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”
They were among the thousands Jesus fed with one boy’s lunch. But their response was not, “Wow! You must be the Messiah!” Instead, it was, “That was great! What’s for dinner?”
When daily bread becomes a person’s chief pursuit, their hearts’ main focus is not the Bread of Life. And as Jesus tells us straight up, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger…”
We live in a society that focuses on this life and things material. As Christians, we also value these things (food, clothing, home, family, sports and activities, etc.). They come to us from the hand of the Lord who multiplied barley bread on a hillside in Galilee. But these blessings are not our chief need. Jesus Himself, the Bread of Life, is.
So, our Lord, here calls upon us to make a serious “heart examination”. Who or what is on the throne there? Two gauges give us readings that show us if the temporary things of this life are encroaching on the rulership of Christ in our hearts: how we use our time, and how we spend our money. We need to consider our daily schedules. How much time do we spend in the Word of Christ, the Holy Scriptures? In prayer? In worship? We need to review our monthly budgets. What percentage are we allotting to things eternal? How much do we spend on the Gospel?
Lord Jesus, work through Word and Spirit in my heart and life so that you always have first place in both. Amen.