Seeking the Gift or the Giver – Ken Barnes
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. (John 6:26 NIV)
Why we follow God is crucial to our spiritual journey. Jesus saw through the hypocrisy of the peoples’ motive for following him. They sought the temporal blessing rather than the eternal ones. They cared more about the gift than the giver.
I once attended a church with a good group of believers. We believed God heard and answered our prayers and many came into our midst with needs. Some needed physical healing, others had marital problems, and others wanted a financial miracle. On many occasions, God met those needs, but not for everyone. We noticed that some who did not have their prayers answered started to waver in attendance until we did not see them at all. We wondered what happened to them. For some, maybe not all, they were seeking the gift more than the giver.
Anytime we want what we can get from God more than God, we have created an idol in our lives. We have also shortchanged ourselves. As human parents, we love to bless our children, but there are times where we understand that giving them what they want may not be the most loving thing to do. Likewise, God sometimes withholds from his children out of love.
God is good all the time. He is loving when he answers our prayers, when he says wait, or even when he says no. Do we love God just for what we can get from him, or because of who he is, a loving Father? Do we seek the gift or the giver?
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