The Next Day

After some of the 5000 had been fed and rested for the night, they started looking for Jesus.  On the evening of the big feeding, Jesus had gone off by Himself for time alone with the Father and then later walked on water in search of the disciples who had gone ahead of him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.   It did not take the hungry seekers long to find Him.  But, they were not hungry for the Words He was speaking.  They were hungry for more bread and fish.  Another free meal.  Another handout.  Something from Jesus.  They were not looking for Jesus so much as they were looking for something from Jesus.

 

Unfortunately, some of our encounters with Jesus do not have being with Jesus as the goal.  The goal is getting something from Him.  The truth is that we sometimes seek the blessing more than the One who gives the blessing.  Think about the way we pray for a moment.  Most of our praying has to do with getting something.  We want Him to hear about the sick we want Him to heal.  We want Him to provide the necessary resources we need to meet some financial crisis.  We want Him to make someone change so we can get along better with them.  Our prayers are too often filled with words that speak of what we want from Him.

 

Such is not the stuff of real relationships.  What marriage partner wants a spouse who is always wanting something of them instead of just wanting to be with them?  Who wants such a friend?  Relationships that are important to us are not the ones built on the stuff we get from them, but built on the joy of being with another.  Surely, there ought be times in our spiritual life when we simply spend time speaking of our love for Jesus, our gratitude to Him, and just letting Him know that there is indeed no one like Him in our life.  So, when was the last time you encountered Jesus and all you had to say was, "Lord, I love you.  I love you."