Life is much more than getting your needs met

Mark 8:14-21

“Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.  And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”  And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread.   And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?   Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?   When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.”    “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.”   And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?””

By this world’s standards, I’m in the winter of my life, I will soon be 76 years of age and yet if the Lord wills I am just beginning to grasp that this life is more, much more than getting my needs met.  With that said, I am often like these disciples of Jesus, not understanding the message of my Lord, looking to the physical and not the spiritual.

The Pharisees had just told Jesus in so many words, if you want us to follow and believe in you show us a sign from heaven, now.  These same men had seen the blind given sight, the leapers healed and those who were sick recovered, but they needed more.  Not much, just more, do you find yourself in that group?  If so will you look once more at this Scripture, they did not get into the boat with Jesus they did not go to the other side.

And when Jesus tells His disciples in the boat to watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod, He is not talking about the physical but the Spiritual.  And the disciples did not get the message, they also were impressed by Jesus’ acts, but they like many today who are religious did not understand Jesus was the promised Messiah.

Jesus did not need bread, but they needed to come to an understanding that He is the bread of life and you and I need to look to Him for that life.  In John 6:35, Jesus proclaims; “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.“  And we are like the Samaritan woman; give us this kind of bread or water in her case.

Do you find you are still hungry, and thirsty, have you come to Jesus or just a church building?  Salvation is offered to those who desire a relationship with the Father, through His Son and power to live by the Holy Spirit.  But it matters not what you have done, the offer is for whosoever will to come, and today is a great day to come. 

In Romans 10:9-10,  ^“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice