“A large crowd kept following Him, because they saw the signs that He was doing for the sick” (Jn 6.2)
Do I seek the Lord because of His mighty works? Or do I seek Him for who He is to me? Have I acknowledged Him as the Lord and Master of my life? Christianity is a loving and living relationship with a God who reigns, who is my Saviour, my Good Shepherd, my Strength and Comfort, in whom I take delight. But often we seek God for our physical needs and its fulfilment. We are earthbound in our thinking. In the Gospel narrative of Feeding the Five Thousand (Jn 6. 1-15), we see our nature reflected in the attitude of the crowd. They were so satisfied with Jesus doing many miracles: healing the sick, casting out demons, multiplying the bread etc and they even wanted to make Him king. They wished to use Him for their purpose. We too are eager to seek Jesus, proclaim Him and love Him all the more, when He does wonders. Jesus told the disciples: “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (Jn 6.26). They failed to see the signs behind the multiplication of bread. So too, we seek the Lord for miracles like healing, settlement of a problem and are quite happy when the Lord does intervene in our lives with His might, love and mercy; but we turn to be blind towards the ‘signs of God’ behind these works of God. The Lord calls us for a deeper experience of who He is in our lives; He wants us to enthrone Him as the King of our heart, to surrender our lives to Him and to establish a loving relationship with Him.
Let us seek the Lord with our whole heart. “When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart” (Jer 29.13). We need to ‘take delight in the Lord’ (Ps. 37.4), not in the blessings and favours we receive from Him. So Jesus told us “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Mt.6 33). But are we not often ‘tying the cart before the horse’?
Lord Jesus, forgive me for being selfish in seeking you. Help me to seek you, not for the wonders of you; but may I seek you, the Lord of the wonders. When I give you the first place in my life as my Lord and God, your blessings will follow in my life. Lord Holy Spirit, with your Wisdom and Guidance, may I seek the Lord of my life and surrender my life totally to Him.
Mary Pereira