Part of the spiritual preparation that my son Noah and I are pursuing before heading to Haiti for a mission trip at the end of this summer, is a 30 Day Guide created by a long term missionary. Today’s lesson was on the familiar passage of the feeding of the 5,000 from the Gospel of John.<\/p>\n
While camping on the side of a mountain in South Dakota on vacation and waiting for the kids to get up… I thought I would share…<\/p>\n
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Do you pass the test?<\/p>\n
I know our Christianese sensibilities don’t like that language at all, but do you pass the test? We live in a grace versus works mode of thinking that truly is at odds with itself.<\/p>\n
Is the Gospel of Jesus about grace, or is it about works? Does Jesus do everything, or do we have a role in the process? The answer is easy… it’s yes.<\/p>\n
John 6:1-14 illustrates:<\/p>\n
This may just seem like a run of the mill reporting of a Jesus rally from back in the day, but verse 6 does not allow us to keep the story that simple.<\/p>\n
6\u00a0<\/b>He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Hmmm… apparently Jesus does test us. So, does that mean we are about works, or are we about grace? Once again… yes.<\/p>\n
Let’s finish the story. I promise, it’ll make sense in a minute.<\/p>\n
Phillip responds to Jesus by saying, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.\u201d<\/p>\n
But,\u00a0\u00a0Andrew, Simon Peter\u2019s brother, said to him,\u00a0<\/b>\u201cThere is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?\u201d<\/p>\n
First, look at Phillip’s answer: it was fear based, it was whiny, it was defeatist, it was sarcastic, it was negative, it focused on the problem.<\/p>\n
Second, look at Andrew’s answer (great name this guy has, by the way): it was positive, it was hopeful,it was a little silly, it only answered part of the question, it was focused on a solution.<\/p>\n
How did Jesus view their responses? He went with Andrew’s!<\/p>\n
11\u00a0<\/strong>Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jesus took Andrew’s optimistic, goofy, very poorly thought out response and did a miracle. Jesus did what no one else could do. If He hadn’t turned a sack lunch into an All You Can Eat Sea of Galilee Buffet\u00a0\u00a9\u00a0<\/b>there would have been no lunch… it was all on Him.<\/p>\n
So, it IS about grace… or, is it about works? YES!<\/p>\n
Our salvation is all on Jesus. He loved us, pursued us, lived for us, died for us, saved us, redeemed us and is changing us!<\/p>\n
But, in our discipleship, He puts us to the test. He grows us, challenges us, works us, and tests us.<\/p>\n
He is looking to see if we have matured enough to be a Phillip or an Andrew. Do you point at the problem, or do you point at a solution?<\/p>\n
Even if you don’t have all the pieces, all the resources, or enough of anything… Andrew knew the answer… it was Jesus.<\/p>\n
So, yes, it’s about grace and works. Saved by grace and tested in our works to see if we know the answer.<\/p>\n
And the answer is always, Jesus.<\/p>\n
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John 6:1 <\/b> After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 <\/b> And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 <\/b> Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 <\/b> Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 <\/b> Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, \u201cWhere are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?\u201d 6 <\/b> He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 <\/b> Philip answered him, \u201cTwo hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.\u201d 8 <\/b> One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter\u2019s brother, said to him, 9 <\/b> \u201cThere is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?\u201d 10 <\/b> Jesus said, \u201cHave the people sit down.\u201d Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 <\/b> Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 <\/b> And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, \u201cGather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.\u201d 13 <\/b> So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 <\/b> When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, \u201cThis is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Part of the spiritual preparation that my son Noah and I are pursuing before heading to Haiti for a mission trip at the end of this summer, is a 30 Day Guide created by a long term missionary. Today’s lesson was on the familiar passage of the feeding of the 5,000 from the Gospel of … <\/p>\n