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PINIMAGELast night I was having dinner at my moms when I looked down on the dinner table and saw a little tin Raggedy Ann and Andy serving tray I played with growing up. One of the kids had brought it out of the extra bedroom where my mom keeps a little hutch full of dishes, cups, and pretend food items. It was mine as a little girl. Now the younger kids enjoy playing with it during our visits.
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I remember, as a little girl, setting up for a grand meal with plastic fruit and cakes displayed on little plates for my guests. I would grab the teapot and forks and spoons. I really wanted to make it like “real-life”. Then I would invite my mom in to eat the meal I prepared.
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My mom was always gracious and pretended to eat the food. “Yum, this is so good. The cake is delicious!” She would pretend to bite in and I would smile with delight. The meal was a success!
But you and I both know if my mom was really hungry…if she was really, really needing nourishment, this fake food, these plastic pastries weren’t going to be of any help at all to her. She could sit there all day biting on that hard plastic fruit and still be hungry.
It seems you never know what it is to really crave and desire a delicious hearty meal until you are really really hungry.
What about spiritual hunger?
I believe God made us to long for Him. I believe He created within us a hunger for spiritual food for our souls.
He satisfies our hunger.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. John 6:35
Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14
The other day I was having a conversation with a friend and she was asking questions about LifeHouse Church. Then in the following sentence she said, “I mean, I’m religious.”
What does it mean to be “religious” and why do we seek it? Is it like biting plastic food and hoping to be satisfied?
I had another friend who said to me, “I think if you have a loved-one who wants to go to church you should support them. Let them go.”
Does religious activity bring satisfaction to the soul? The truth is, in our culture, it’s widely accepted to be “religious.” But where does it get us?
I was reading this morning in John chapter 1. In this chapter we see John the Baptist. He was paving the way for Jesus’s earthly ministry, telling people to be looking for the Messiah.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ 31 I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.” John 1:29-34
On the following day some of John’s followers were with him and saw Jesus walk by. Look what happened next.
35 The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36 As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!”37 When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.
38 Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come and see,” he said. John 1:35-39
I want to point out a few things here and tie them to my story about my childhood hutch. John is excited to see that the One he has professed and longed for has now come. He’s telling those who followed him, “Look! All that I have told you…He’s the One! He’s your hope, your redemption! And here He is.”
So what do they do?
The two men in this story start to “follow Jesus”.
And here’s what I love. This is what really struck me from the passage. Jesus turns around to the disciples and says, “What do you seek?” “What do you want?”
I try to picture the scene in my mind. I imagine me walking behind. What if He asked me? Could I put it into words? Why did he ask?
Was it because He didn’t know?
Absolutely not.
Perhaps it was because THEY didn’t fully know.
Many “start to follow”.
But many don’t ask the question, “What do I want?”
Did they really want Jesus?
Or a plastic likeness?
Did they want God to feed their hungry soul?
Did they want to be spiritually fed?
Or were they okay just chewing on plastic food, never satisfied, and always hoping for more?
The only way to satisfy our spiritual hunger is to follow Him. Everything else is plastic.
I love looking down further in John’s book to chapter 6. Jesus’s ministry is in full swing and many people have “started to follow”. Jesus feeds the 5,000 plus people and he is gaining popularity among the people. He addresses them.
25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” 29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” 30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat’.” 32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.” 35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:25-35
As you read on you see that many began to argue about his words to them. We begin to see what they are really after.
Some wanted a magician – a genie. (plastic)
Some wanted physical sustenance and provision. (plastic)
Some wanted only what they could understand with their intellect. (plastic)
Some wanted an agreeable Messiah. (plastic)
Look what ended up happening…
66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. John 6
What a tragedy!
Why? Why did they leave the source of their Spiritual life and nourishment?
Because it wasn’t’ want they were seeking. They were seeking something far less. Something “plastic”.
But I LOVE what comes next.
67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” 68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”
Who are you in the story, my friend?
Have you experienced the Bread of Life?
Have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good?
Have you been regularly to the table to dine with Him? Are you hungry? Do you thirst?
What is it you want?
