JOHN 6:1-13
“After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.
And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.
And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,
There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.”
Can you imagine sitting down in a gathering and experiencing how thousands of people were miraculously fed with few loaves of bread and some fishes. You would probably have felt like seeing more supernatural provisions like that not necessarily to satisfy your physical hunger, but to experience more of such amazing manifestation of power that is obviously beyond human ability and also to have a relationship with the One who could do such a thing. This occurrence could probably have moved you to desire to seek God for who He is right?
On the other hand, it is possible that as humans, we would have acted like those who saw that miracle with their own eyes, yet could not thirst or hunger for more of the manifestation of God’s supernatural ability to do the impossible, but all they could think about was the bread and fish that satisfied their hunger physically.
This explains the carnality of the human nature and its desire to seek for signs. Despite God’s ability to do awesome wonders, it is surprising to know that some people care less about the wonders or the Wonder working God, but are more interested in what they stand to get for themselves to satisfy their flesh or physical cravings.
Jesus addressed this issue after He had fed the multitude and a large crowd followed Him right after that miracle was performed. Since no intention can be hidden from the God of all creation, Jesus was able to discern the purpose for which the crowd followed Him and as a result, He was able to tell them they were not following Him for who He is or the miracles they b had seen Him perform, but for what they wanted to get from Him.( physical food)
JOHN 6:26-27
“Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”
How can You have access to the greatest of all and all you can think of is what to eat or drink for free? It sounds terrible right? Considering that the best freebies are in His care, talking about the air we breath, the sun by day and the moon by night, the salvation of our souls, rest, peace and eternal security among several other things. ( GENESIS 1:16,MATTHEW 11:28, LUKE 12:32, JOHN 10:28)
But this is what a lot of us do as a result of seeking Jesus only for what He is able to do for us and not who He is or what we are able to do for Him or His Kingdom. We simply follow because of the “free stuffs” of the moment, not minding the fact that there are other stuffs that are of eternal value and worth us following Him for.
There is no intention or motive that is hidden from God. If the reason for which we follow Him is all about us, He is very much aware and will definitely not be pleased with such persons, even if they appear to men to be followers of Christ, when in the real sense they are not actually recognized by Christ as His followers.
If all you ever want is what Jesus has to give and not who He is or His continuous revelation of how great He is and the wonders of His unfailing Word that is able to save, heal, deliver, restore, do the impossible and so much more, you may want to sincerely ask yourself if you are truly following as you ought to.
God is pleased with those who seek Him for who He is, honor His Word and walk by faith, rather than those who only seek for signs so that they can consume it upon their flesh or get excited or entertained as a result.
MATTHEW 12:38-39
” Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”
Signs and wonders are meant to follow every true child of God, not the other way round which implies that we are not to be all about the things He is able to do, but who He is, which is what enables us to experience what He is able to do. Instead of seeking for miracles, seek the Miracle worker and you will experience miracles in an amazing way. Instead of seeking for provision or free food, seek the Great provider and you will have more than you can ask of or imagine.
MARK 16:17
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
As God’s children, we are carriers of His glory and not just seekers of it. We have all it takes to perform signs and wonders also, which is capable of bringing others to the knowledge of His saving grace. When we however become seekers of signs instead of people who take God at His Word, and live a life of faith in Him, we become just like the crowd who followed Jesus in John 6:26, who despite the great signs they saw had nothing but some more free food to feed their physical bodies with as their priority and reason for following Him.
Seek Him for who He is and not what He is able to do and you will experience His supernatural ability in an indescribable manner and also be blessed indeed by Him.
JOHN 20:29
“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
Author Profile
- Temitope is the founder of thesoulmeal.com, an online platform that she shares with her God-given spiritual family and friends. She is a speaker, teacher and youth counselor. She is passionate about inspiring people to find their identity in Christ. Catch her interviewing inspiring leaders on Tongue of the Learned Podcast
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Do you have any suggestions for writing posts?
That’s where I always struggle and I just finish up looking empty display for lengthy time.
As much as I would have loved to give you practical tips, I personally do not know of any and I always try to remind myself that I am not a professional writer each time I get confused or try to compare myself with others. I just write as I am inspired and when I have something I
feel is not good enough to fly at the moment I save it and go back to it whenever I get the chance to. Writing for me is only possible with the help of the Holy Spirit. I hope this helps. Happy writing( smiles)