Looking for the Goodies?

Many Christians, myself included, find ourselves wondering from time to time why we do not consistently see the kinds of miracles that marked the life and work of Jesus.  We pray for people to be healed, yet they are not.  We pray for relationships to be reconciled, but bitterness remains.  We pray for provision in tough times and often it seems slow to come.

I think John gives us a hint about this in Sunday’s follow up to the feeding of the 5,000 (Click here to read Sunday’s lesson.)  Following the feeding miracle, Jesus crossed the lake to Capernaum, where the disciples and other followers caught up with him.  Jesus points out that they were following Him “not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”  Had they seen “signs” as Jesus wanted, they would have recognized what those signs pointed to the reality that the Kingdom of God had come near in Jesus, the Messiah.  Instead, they were chasing after the next meal.

Jesus is not looking for miracle chasers as His followers, but for disciples who see Jesus as Messiah and follow Him as Lord regardless of getting the “goodies” of some miracles to make life nicer.  If being a follower of Jesus was primarily about getting some miracles, then we would not trust ourselves to Him as Lord, but only as some great vending machine, and that does not save.

Why do you come to Jesus?

This column appeared in the August 1, 2021 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.

If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.