No Contraints

“It’s a dog-eat-dog world ... and I’m wearing Milk Bone underwear.” It may have been Norm Peterson’s most memorable line from the classic TV sitcom “Cheers.” He was right about the dog-eat-dog part, anyway, because we live in a world where resources are limited but human wants are not. So, we vie for a piece of the pie. (The study of how we do so is called economics.)

Imagine, then, Philip’s sense of helplessness when Jesus asked him where they might buy food for the 5,000 people now flocking toward them. “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”¹ the disciple exclaimed. We can feel his panic, can’t we? So much demand and so little supply!

Then with just five small loaves of barley and two small fish, Jesus gave thanks for the bounty and distributed it to the crowd for an all-you-can eat buffet. Filled to the gills and 12 basketfuls of leftovers later, it occurred to the people that “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world,”² and they aimed “to come and make him king by force.”³ Why? They had reduced God to something of a neighborhood convenience store. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus would tell them when they came seeking Him later, “you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”⁴

The kingdom of God, however, is not something we seize by force; it is something we receive through grace. When we do, we find His economy is not one of scarcity, but of abundance—what we strive to earn, God gives for free; though we tend to hoard, He overflows; and as we give away, He multiplies. Why? Because though our desire for Him has its limits, His boundless love for us knows no constraints. And that’s something to cheer about.

“Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)

Father, your love for me far surpasses my understanding, and your care for me exceeds anything I deserve. Everything I need is found in you. Thank you. In Jesus’ name and by the power of your Spirit, I pray. Amen.

Christ in me is freedom.

¹ John 6:7
² John 6:14
³ John 6:15
⁴ John 6:26

[Click here to read today’s Scripture in John 6:1-15.]

I came for the cookies ...

The Sunday closing events for Kairos Prison Ministries weekends are awesome celebrations of God’s unconditional love and transformational power.  If you’re ever invited to one, do the unthinkable: go to prison.  You will be blessed beyond imagination. 

Probably what makes the closings so great are the testimonies of the inmates who have experienced God’s love and forgiveness over the past four days.  When it comes time for “open mic,” these guys almost race to the podium to bare their souls and tell their stories.  And one comment you’ll hear from time to time is this: “I came for the cookies, but I’m leaving with Jesus.”  Many come away from the weekend far different than when they came – stuffed with food, yes, but filled with love and hope and a better understanding of their worth. 

Today’s Bible passage is the epilogue to Jesus feeding the 5,000.  It is “the morning after,” literally.  What began as a teaching the day before became a miraculous feast ... and then a camp-out.  And when they people awoke to find Jesus gone, they launched out in boats to follow him. 

Was it another jaw-dropping miracle they sought?  More unfathomable wisdom?  The truth from “the Truth”?  No, no, and no.  “You are looking for me,” Jesus said, “not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”  In prisoner parlance, they came for the cookies! 

How often to do we seek out Jesus simply for our own gratification?  Are we so lasered in on pleasing our palates that we ignore what’s important?   He gives us temporary treats, certainly, and it pleases him to do so.  But of far greater value is his sustenance for our soul – forgiveness and sanctification, peace and joy, life and love. 

Jesus redirected the people’s attention to what really mattered: “I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  By the end of the Kairos weekend, many of my friends behind bars understand this.  For having tasted the life and love of God, the cookies crumble in comparison. 

What will you feast on today?  And what kind of food will you offer to others? 

[Click here to see the daily reading in John 6:22-35.] 

Word Consumption

“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’”  John 6:68-69

There is no shortage of words today, is there?  Talk radio, 24/7 “news,” the social media explosion, a ubiquity of TV monitors ...  we overindulge in an endless buffet of words!

It is important to evaluate words with a strong mind and choose carefully which ones we will ingest.  Why?  Because their ingredients are the by-product of the heart; some are healthy and others not.  It is as Jesus said, “For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

Words spoken from one’s sin nature are often harsh, deceiving, accusatory, self-serving or dishonest.  Disagreeable and hard to stomach!  Yet the most dangerous ones are like candy flung to the crowds at a Fourth of July parade ... and containing about the same nutritional value: sugar, syrup and artificial flavoring.  Sweet, but unhealthy, these are things people like to hear, like “there are many paths to God” or “it’s all good.”  Again, listen to Jesus as he speaks to the Pharisees whose “path to God” did not lead to God at all: “... how can you who are evil say anything good?”  If we swallow whatever tantalizes undiscerning palates, the entire body pays the price.

But who but much-maligned Peter, would come up with this grain of truth: “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”  Where did that come from?  Jesus told him, “Blessed are you ... for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven (Matthew16:17).”  Like an expert shopper, Peter squeezed, sniffed and poked around, accepting nothing but bread that would never leave him hungry and water that would forever satisfy (John 6:35).

Jesus is “the bread of life”; the words he speaks are “spirit and life.”  In him, our spirits never go hungry, but are nourished unto eternity.

Picky like Peter, may we fill ourselves with the words of eternal life.  Nothing less.  Nothing more.

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Psalm 119:103