John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled
I travel frequently and most of that is by car. My lovely wife is my navigator. Last week she said, “Turn right here.” What does that mean? There have been times she has said, “Turn right here,” I made a right-hand turn, and she said, “No, no, you were supposed to turn left!” I’ll say, “You said to turn right,” and she will answer, “No, I said turn left and then I said to turn right here.” So, you’ve got the same word but two different conversations. That is because I’m hearing what I’m expecting and she is just communicating the fact, turn at the very spot. “Right” can mean “right as opposed to left” or “right now as opposed to later on.”
We all have experienced times when there are two subjects but one conversation or the same word and two different subjects where we are not connecting what we say. That often happened with the Lord Jesus in His earthly ministry because He was God the Son. He had things on His mind that the disciples, for instance, did not. Someone might say, “He is so heavenly-minded that he is no earthly good.” I understand that if by that you mean that someone is merely pious and has no common sense. Sometimes we think people are spiritual just because of their temperament. If they have a subdued or pensive personality, we attribute that to spirituality. I know people who I’ve almost felt guilty being around because they seem so spiritual, but I’ve learned that, though they may or may not be spiritual, they just have a personality.
I’m not saying your person should not be affected by God’s Spirit, but there is a difference between having a pious personality and being connected to God, being spiritual, being aware of that part of you. Someone has said, “If you aim at earth, you lose Heaven. If you aim at Heaven, you get Heaven with earth thrown in.” The truth is, if someone is really, genuinely spiritual, they are going to have more common sense than they would otherwise have, wisdom that God gives, to be fit for life.
The question is, “How spiritually minded are you?” That is not, “Are you spiritually minded or not?” but “To what extent are you spiritually minded?” Often, we just think about right here, right now, the physical. We think about lunch; we don’t think about eternal life. We think about our worries; we don’t think about God’s plans. That is the gap that exists between Jesus’ words and Jesus’ hearers.
John 6:26 says, “Jesus answered them and said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.” Jesus said to this crowd following Him, “You are interested in Me because of food, the here and now, and to the extent that you think I meet that immediate need.” Now, how spiritually minded are you? Let me give you two metrics.
First, how eternal is my perspective? Am I just thinking about lunch or am I thinking about things beyond? In verse 27 Jesus said, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” There is a contrast between that which perishes, doesn’t last, and that which endures unto everlasting life, and we are to labor for that which lasts.
The Bible says, “Labor not to be rich.” It is not that money itself is wrong; it is short-sighted. It is not the point. So, how eternal is your perspective? How eternal is your labor? I don’t mean that everything you do must be pious. If you are turning screws, selling widgets, or working in the office, do you see the significance of what you are doing on eternity? Do you see how you live today may affect other people for eternity?
Is your hope eternal? If the sum and substance of your hope is merely winning an election, even though that is important, that should not be the sum and substance of your hope. What about your worry? Jesus said, “Don’t worry about what you are going to eat, drink, or put on. There is more to life than food and clothing.” Yet, no one who is merely thinking about food and clothing can worry about things that are more significant. How eternal is your perspective, your labor, your hope, your worry?
Second, who is driving your life? In verses 28-29 it says, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” So, God’s work is believing in Him, believing in His work. In His earthly ministry, Jesus was never impressed with what people did. How are you going to impress the God Who spoke the worlds into existence? Instead, Jesus very often marveled at people’s faith or lack of it. He was impressed by their faith, not by their action. God is the One Who gives force to our actions when we trust Him for them.
So, who is driving your work today? Is it simply what you want and you are taking care of the next meal? Or do you allow God to figure into your life and into your actions and the things you are doing?
What about your will? Who is the driver of your will, what you wish to accomplish? In verse 38 Jesus says, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” Then, in the next two verses He references the Father’s will, “the will of Him that sent me.” There is more to life than what you are worried about today. There is more to life than what you want today. In five years, you probably won’t want the same things. It very well may be that in a week’s time you won’t worry about the things you are worried about now. Even if you are, maybe it is some major question in your life, you can give that to God and realize that our lives are significant now because of the impact they have on the truly important, the eternal.
So, how spiritually minded are you? Are you hearing Jesus’ words and understanding Jesus’ meaning, or are you misunderstanding everything that He says because you are using the same words, but you have a different priority? You have lunch in mind when He is considering eternity. How eternal is your perspective, your labor, your hope, your worry? Who is driving your life? Is it you or the God Who loves you and made you?