After the Bread, What?

By Debbonnaire Kovacs, posted July 29, 2015

From John 6:24-35:

From John 6:24-35:

“The next day, when the people who remained after the feeding of the five thousand saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”

I’ve done it. Have you? I’ve been in some great need or depression or heaviness of spirit, and God has done a miracle to bring me out of it.

I’ve praised his name and told my friends about it.

Then I’ve thought, “Cool! I’ll never be in great need or depressed or heavy in spirit again!”

And when the next rift arrives, one of two things happens: I forget all about the miracle, (like the disciples on the sea when the storm came and they thought they were going to die, with the Calmer of Storms and Feeder of Multitudes in the boat with them)…

…or…

I blithely expect the next miracle. I define the Great Creator as the Calmer of [My] Storms and Feeder of Multitudes [Me, to be precise], and I chase him down and say, “Hey! Where’s my bread?”

It’s embarrassing. Sometimes…I really hate to say this!…

Sometimes I act as if the Most High is…

…my servant.

That’s the truth, God forgive me!

I must read and reread and take to heart the rest of the story:

[Jesus said]: “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”

And I must humbly ask, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”

And when Jesus answer[s me], “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent,” I must not  sass back, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you?”

What?? “What work is he performing?!”

He’s bringing us life and light and salvation, that’s what. He’s asking us to share the loaves and fishes that he gave us to begin with. He’s asking us to keep our minds higher than our navels, and when we ask, “Sir, give us this bread always,” to be thinking not of what we want/need/must have this moment, but of eternal life. And his eternal promise:

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”