Is Your Purpose of Having Faith in God to Eat Your Fill of Bread or to Gain Life?
As a believer in God, have you ever reflected on your purpose of having faith in God? This question is of vital importance to us believers in God, and it is directly related to whether we can finally receive God’s approval.
The Bible records that the Lord Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. When these people found the Lord Jesus the next day, the Lord said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, You seek Me, not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled” (John 6:26), and “I am the bread of life: he that comes to Me shall never hunger; and he that believes on Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). From the Lord’s words, we see that God wants us to gain life from Him, not just to gain material things. Let’s read the following God’s words together, and you will better understand God’s will.
God says, “When the Lord Jesus saw these five thousand people, they were hungry and could only think of filling their stomachs, so it was in this context that the Lord Jesus satisfied their desire. When He satisfied their desire, what was in His heart? What was His attitude toward these people that only wanted to eat their fill? At this time, the Lord Jesus’ thoughts and His attitude were in relation to God’s disposition and essence. Facing these five thousand people with empty stomachs who only wanted to eat a full meal, facing these people full of curiosity and hope for Him, the Lord Jesus only thought of utilizing this miracle to bestow grace upon them. However, He did not raise His hopes that they would become His followers, for He knew that they just wanted to join the fun and to eat their fill, so He made the best of what He had there, and used five loaves of bread and two fish to feed five thousand people. He opened the eyes of these people who enjoyed seeing exciting things, who wanted to witness miracles, and they saw with their own eyes the things that God incarnate could accomplish. … Even though these people did not know who He was and did not understand Him or have any particular impression of Him or gratitude toward Him even after they had eaten the loaves and fish, this was not something that God took issue with — He gave these people a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the grace of God.”
“So did He make any requirements of these people? Was there any hatred? No, here were none of these. He simply no longer wanted to pay any mind to these people who could not follow Him, and at this time His heart was in pain. Because He had seen the depravity of mankind and He had felt mankind’s rejection of Him, when He saw these people and He was with them, He was saddened by human obtuseness and ignorance, and His heart was in pain, all He wanted was to leave these people as quickly as possible. The Lord did not make any requirements of them in His heart, He did not want to pay them any mind, and even more, He did not want to expend His energy on them. He knew that they could not follow Him, but in spite of all this, His attitude toward them was still very clear. He just wanted to treat them kindly, to bestow grace upon them, and indeed this was God’s attitude toward every creature under His rule — to treat every creature kindly, to provide for them and nourish them. For the very reason that the Lord Jesus was God incarnate, He very naturally revealed God’s own essence and treated these people kindly. He treated them with a heart of benevolence and tolerance, and with such a heart He showed them kindness.”
It can be seen that these people came before the Lord Jesus just to eat a full meal and to gain more grace from the Lord. They didn’t want to follow the Lord at all. Therefore, the Lord Jesus did not speak more to these people who only asked for grace as He did to the disciples who truly followed Him. He just treated them kindly and gave them the opportunity to enjoy His grace, but these people would never be praised by God, and had nothing whatsoever to do with entering the kingdom of heaven. However, people such as Peter and John who focused on gaining life followed the Lord not because they wanted to ask for grace, but because they loved God’s words and desired to understand God’s will. Therefore, the Lord said a lot to them and personally watered and shepherded them, showed them the way into the kingdom of heaven, and told them how to be tolerant and generous, so that they had the opportunity to be approved by God and enter the kingdom of heaven. Take Peter for example. He finally earned God’s praise, and the Lord let him shepherd churches and gave him the keys to the kingdom of heaven. It can be seen that anyone who truly believes in God and pursues the truth can receive God’s approval, and gain the truth and the life.
Compared to our faith in God, do we believe in God just for eating our fill? Amongst believers in the Lord, some regard believing in the Lord as a spiritual sustenance and use it to fill their spiritual emptiness. Some believe in the Lord just for receiving grace from Him, so that they can work smoothly, and their family can be safe. Some read the Bible every day but never comply with the Lord’s words in practice; they just want to keep following the Lord in this way, unreasonably desiring the entry into the heavenly kingdom. … Are people as such not those who eat their fill and rely on grace for salvation? Could such faith in the Lord receive His commendation? Is it different from that of the five thousand people who were fed by the Lord Jesus? These questions merit careful consideration.
Source from: Find the shepherd
Friends, is your purpose of having faith in God to eat your fill, or to gain life? Please feel free to share your knowledge or thoughts with us by leaving a message below or on Messenger.：https : //bit.ly/2Z2AL6x
