Tuesday 8 May 2018

May 8: John 6:1-11

Key Verse: John 6:5
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”

Devotion:
What was Jesus’ first reaction toward all the people descending on Him? To think about what they were going to get to eat! I don’t think I would have the same reaction because my brain would be thinking of real-world things rather that how I could take care of all of the people. Jesus knew they did not have enough food amongst all the people gathered and so He made a point of what was about to happen, so God could get all the glory!

The disciples had a reaction which I would think was quite reasonable. I would open up my wallet (albeit a virtual wallet with debit cards and the like nowadays) and see if there was enough in there to be able to share what I have. I would be thinking about the bills to pay and would therefore make a quick calculation in my head to see whether I could help in the first place. That was not Jesus’ thoughts. He seemed to be thinking about feeding the people rather than wondering whether they could get the food!

Our hearts need to change to be more like that – not worrying about the here and now but rather looking toward the goal of glorifying God by doing things as He would! Jesus was going to feed these people no matter what! The logistics was something they would have to think about, but the love came straight from His heart and the provision came from trusting God to provide for His children!

Faith is something we need to test a lot of the time because if we do not, we grow tired and stop depending on that faith. We then start to wonder whether it is true and start to get caught up in doubt first rather than Christ first. Jesus had no problem with taking the very little they had and lifting it up to His Father in heaven so He could do the provisioning. That showed faith in the unseen God! We need to demonstrate our faith as we test it and as it grows with our everyday lives.

Points to Ponder:
Do you doubt first or have faith first?

Will you try to be more like Christ this week?