Hungering for Jesus

The Wilderness: dangerous to the point of being deadly, burdensome to the point of being crushing, maze-like to the point of being impassible. It's not simply the desert Moses struggled to lead hundreds of thousands of Israelites through thousands of years ago - it's where you live, it's where your life takes you every day. The Promised Land is ahead, sometimes feeling closer and more present than others. We need God's help to sustain us in such a place. When He's more than willing to provide for us, why do we feel we need to manipulate Him into blessing us? When He is the One who satisfies, why do we look to so many other things for our fulfillment?

The majority of the crowd in John 6 exemplifies rocky soil: they "hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away" (Mark 4:16-17). When Jesus miraculously provides them with more than enough food to satisfy their hunger, they quickly confess Jesus' greater authority and desire "to come and make Him a king by force" (John 6:14-15). When Jesus leaves, they don't relent until they find Him. But why?

Passionately following and appreciating Jesus is not a bad thing, but God is more concerned with the inward, the heart, than the outward actions. Jesus is unashamed to confront them when the crowd finds Him across the lake the next day: "'I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill'" (John 6:26). Desire to give glory to God or appreciate Jesus is nowhere in sight, only self-centered desires for comfort and fulfillment.

If that's not bad enough, the crowd tries to manipulate Jesus into performing more miracles. While Jesus is confronting their wrong motivation and pointing them toward the meaning of His ministry, they can't stop thinking about its possibilities for benefiting them: When Jesus presents the core of the Gospel, saying "The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent," the crowd responds with something similar to, "Okay, we'll believe you if you give us another greater sign" - wink, wink; nudge, nudge (vv. 29-30). Even to the point of suggesting something like bread coming down from heaven (v. 31). How perverted is the desire to have God repeatedly prove Himself by blessing us; how ridiculous is it to strive to follow God only when it benefits us.

The irony of the situation is that God's already faithfully providing the greatest blessings and constantly working for our good. They're asking for something that's already been given - they just need their eyes opened to see it. Jesus' frustration is apparent: He's it - He's the sustaining and life-giving provision they desire; He's the miraculous and exciting and empowering sustenance they need. We need. When we go to God seeking selfish gain, we forfeit the fulfillment offered in knowing and following Him. May we humbly confess and repent of our pride and believe on the One who saves and changes and mends and sends, foremost for His glory, but also for our fulfillment and enjoyment.