Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” John 6:35
Thought for the Day: Being Hungry for the Word
Not only is the Bible a book of truth about God that is taught by God, it is also a book of life written as a personal letter to each of God’s children. The Bible teaches us how to serve God and how not to serve him. It teaches us how to find him and how we can keep from hiding ourselves from him. Yet perhaps the greatest truth the Bible teaches is that we can never take God by surprise. He always takes the first move. Before we find him, he has already sought us out. Before we reach out a hand to him, he has reached out for us. As John Stott writes, “The Bible reveals a God who, long before it even occurs to man to turn to him, while man is still lost in darkness and sunk in sin, takes the initiative, rises from his throne, lays aside his glory, and stoops to seek until he finds him.”
Of course who Stott is writing about is Jesus. The greatest word God has spoken to the world is Jesus. From the start, John’s gospel reminds us that Christianity is not about doing but about what has already been done for us and for the world in Jesus:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. . . . The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known (John 1:1-5, 9-14, 16-18).
Jesus has revealed the One true God to us. He has given us the right to become children of God. God’s chief complaint against man is that we don’t seek him: The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one (Psalm 14:2-3). So God did something about it in his Son, and now we are called children of God rather than children of man. Accordingly, we are to read the Bible as children of God and not as children of man.
Unfortunately, we tend to read the Bible selectively like children of man, picking verses here and there that suit our needs. What is missing in our lives is the whole Bible that tells us who we are and what God calls us to. Jesus says that he is the way and the truth and the life, so if we are truly to follow him, then we best have a deep hunger to understand the way and the truth and the life, and the place we will understand is in Scripture. Once we are hungry for this, we will find ourselves digging into God’s Word, for there is little more important to spreading the Christian faith than knowing and living out the message it proclaims. Paul says in Romans 10:17, Faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. The word of Christ, the message of who he is and what he has done, brings people to faith and to new birth. Peter says that God causes the new birth through this witness: you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God (1 Peter 1:23). Behind the word and behind believing is the hand of God. James, the brother of Jesus, adds this: Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth (James 1:18). God uses his word to work his will. The word of God and the will of God are intermingled. For us to know his will and to know his way, we need to know his word, for his word is truth and life. As Jesus said, “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Self-examination, repentance, prayer, and worship:
Before you pray, take some time to reflect on the most important human relationships in your life. Perhaps there is one in particular that is troubled and about which you are concerned. Ask the Lord to assist in correcting/reconciling that relationship, and then pray a prayer like the following:
O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by unhappy divisions in our relationships in life, especially those in your Church; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Spend further time in prayer and worship before studying the Gospel of John below.
Study: John 7:1-24, Jesus at the Feast of Booths
1After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. 3So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world." 5For not even his brothers believed in him. 6Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come." 9After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
10But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, "Where is he?" 12And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, "He is a good man," others said, "No, he is leading the people astray." 13Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.
14About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?" 16So Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?" 20The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?" 21Jesus answered them, "I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."
Reflection Questions:
1) Jesus says in verse 7 that the world hates him because he declares the truth about the world and people: that their works are evil. What is evil about the works of the world and people?
2) In speaking about the Sabbath, Jesus was not telling people it should not be observed, but that some work must be done on the Sabbath—works of mercy and grace. Why do you think Jesus chose to heal people on the Sabbath?
No comments:
Post a Comment