Dear Friends,
We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk. We give thanks to Rev. Pam Reed, Registrar and Student Support Tutor, for writing this devotional.
You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
John 6: 24-35 (NRSVUE)
24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us, then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Devotional
It’s exciting for the crowds who have been following Jesus. They have witnessed healings, controversies and arguments, and now the miraculous provision of food for thousands of people. Why wouldn’t you keep following someone who makes the dreary humdrum of life more interesting? What will happen next?
If we’re honest we aren’t so different from those crowds. We want to see great things happening – great preaching, great numbers of people converted, great crowds at worship, charismatic leaders. It’s harder to have faith when there’s slow progress, small numbers, struggling churches, and nothing exciting seems to be happening.
Jesus castigates the people for their shallowness of faith. They are only seeking the next miracle, the next experience, the next healing. Blessings are great, but we always want more and greater blessings. Jesus wants people who are seeking to have a strong faith in the God who provides through adversity, the God who wants an ongoing relationship with them, the God who doesn’t desert his beloved people when life gets tough. Jesus is the bread of life who provides all that we need. When we try to put God in a box and dictate how he should act in our lives, we may not recognise the small everyday blessings we have.
A few months ago, I met my 24-year-old daughter at a local café for dinner. I told her that I would pay for the meal that day. We ate our meal, chatted for some time, and then I went to pay the bill. Imagine my surprise when I was told “Your bill has been paid.” I had no idea who had done that – I hadn’t seen anyone I knew in the café that day, so it must have been a stranger who had blessed us. WOW! It was an unexpected blessing. But I wouldn’t expect this to happen every time I go to a café. Expecting that blessing every time I enter a café would devalue the blessing I received.
Jesus calls us into relationship: to grow in faith despite the hard times, despite the apparent lack of progress, despite the lack of amazing signs and wonders. Our God is the faithful God who provides for us in a myriad of ways and circumstances. Jesus truly is the bread of life – amazing, awesome, abundant life.
Prayer
Jesus, thank you that you are the bread of life who delights to provide for our every need. Help us to recognise the everyday blessings we receive. May the blessings that you provide move us into closer relationship with you. Amen.
Blessings,
Pam Reed (Registrar and Student Support Tutor)