by László Balogh
Why does this material world have such a pull on us? We seek the comforts of life constantly. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against living comfortably. What I dislike though, is that once our lives are filled with all the comfort we want, we stop right there, and we seem to be just perfectly satisfied. It’s almost as though the ease material goods offer pull the wool over our eyes, and we say “That’s it, there is nothing else to seek for. Listen to the lullaby, hear the sweet soothing melody, and sleep on”.
There is nothing new under the sun. Humanity has always been the same. Jesus went about doing good, healing the sick everywhere, showing many signs and miracles. At one occasion he multiplied food and fed a large hungry crowd till they were all filled and satisfied. The people, being familiar with ancient prophecies, came to the conclusion that indeed he is the Messiah that is to come – the Savior that is to bring peace and rule over them in fairness and righteousness. Jesus perceived their intentions that they wanted to take him by force and make him king, so he went and hid himself. This was not the way he was going to fulfill his mission. He didn’t come here just to fill their hungry bellies – there was something more he had to accomplish which he couldn’t have completed, had they made him natural king over the land.
When the same people found him again, Jesus told them flat out: “Look, you didn’t follow me here because you saw signs and wonders and miracles, but because you ate of the bread and the fish and your bellies were satisfied”.
What a sad and miserable human display that is! You witness disabled people get up and walk, blind eyes open, deaf ears open, lepers cleansed – all kinds of sicknesses healed, and all you can think about is the food you were fed. How shallow and superficial people can get!
“Yeah, supernatural miracles… Whatever… It’s nice and all, but just feed us. Get the Romans off our back, be our king and keep providing for our material needs”. Jesus called them out on this right away and told them to look beyond the material, and strive for spiritual values that will last forever. Everything of the material nature decays, but Jesus has something more to offer. He told them they could have eternal life through him – something far more precious than just a daily fix. And these words ring just as true today…
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