A PURSUIT IN LOVE

DAY 114

After the multiplication of bread, we see the crowd desperately looking for Jesus. In fact, they jumped into boats unsure if He was at their set destination. Jesus’ first words upon seeing them however seemed like a rebuke:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves"(John 6:26).

Hence, the question that arises is this ‘Was it wrong for the crowd to desire a place where a need of theirs was met?

Who just follows when there is nothing to gain? Even the disciples of Jesus weren’t willing to follow without a guarantee of something when they asked Jesus ‘Remember, we have left everything to be your followers! What will we get?”(Mt 19:27). It matters not whether the gain is material or spiritual, but by all means, there has to be some gain.

It is interesting then that God is introduced as ‘a rewarder’. In Hebrews 6:10 we read ‘But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

So therefore, while diligent seeking is rewarded, we cannot become ‘users of God and men’. We cannot run looking for God solely on the premise of what we stand to gain because if what drives our pursuit of Him are ‘things’ and not love, then our pursuit has really being misguided.

#sly