Good morning, friends.
At least I hope we can still be friends—even though I’ve been silent for a long time. But this is a special morning with a one-hour time change, giving me not only a little extra time, but a little less excuse to not engage in this kind of effort. Hope you can handle this unexpected contribution to your INBOX.
Life continues to be complicated, hectic, stressful, and yet overshadowed by the peace of God as we passionately seek the God of peace.
I’m thinking to stick on a couple photos. I took one this morning, having put out some food for the animals. The other introduces you to our new dog, Tazzy. He came as a pup, but has grown huge with mind-boggling speed. He is patiently awaiting me at present to accompany me on my old man walk/jog.
Blessings on your day—believing as though your very eternal destiny depends on it.
Ray Sparre
Why indeed! This rhetorical question from Jesus only addresses the tip of mankind’s persistent hypocritical iceberg. It could be equated with a question like, “Why would you strain at a gnat and swallow a camel?”—or, “Why would you major in minors and minor in majors?”
This reading opens with scenes right after Jesus had miraculously fed a huge crowd with a boy’s lunch. But when that party was over, Jesus was able to evade the crowd. “So Jesus, knowing that they were about to take him and make him their king by force, quickly left and went up the mountainside alone” (6:15, TPT). Even that was miraculous—not to mention his interception of His disciples who were traveling in a boat when He had no boat—or no need for a boat—kind of like boatless water skiing.
“When they finally found him, they asked him, ‘Teacher, how did you get here?” (6:25 TPT). Jesus said, “I walked!” Just kidding. The fact is He didn’t really answer their question. Instead He cut to the quick and addressed their heart level duplicity. “Let me make this very clear, you came looking for me because I fed you by a miracle, not because you believe in me. Why would you strive for food that is perishable and not be passionate to seek the food of eternal life, which never spoils?” (6:27, TPT).
A key word in Jesus’ answer is “believe.” In fact, that is the key word and key principle of the entire Biblical Gospel. We could list a bunch of scriptures a mile long to underscore that fact. But equally important to understanding the importance of Biblical belief is understanding what Biblical belief looks like. To be sure, any brand or version of belief that is not demonstrated by LIFESTYLE is simply not authentic Biblical belief, but only a distortion thereof. How you live proves what you believe—pure and simple.
I confess to struggling a good deal with the sad evidence that many “believers” do not really believe. In so many cases I can’t avoid reasoning that if a person is really and truly a believer in the absolute importance of living to please and worship God and following Christ, they simply could not do some of the stuff they do—or make the choices they make.
Jesus clearly speaks to this matter in Chapter 5 as He tangles with His opponents: “Of course you’re unable to believe in me. For you live for the praises of others and not for the praise that comes from the only true God” (5:44, TPT).
For no extra charge, I want to take a moment to end a debate that has been ongoing for millennia—the controversy over ARE WE SAVED BY GRACE, OR ARE WE SAVED BY WORKS? The answer is clearly and unequivocally, YES! In other words, BOTH. Without a lengthy exposition, let’s site how Jesus responds to His opponents when they ask, “So what should we do if we want to do God’s work? Jesus answered, ‘The work you can do for God starts with believing in the One he has sent’” (6:28-29). If believing is work, and the most important work we can do is believing, then no one can be saved without this work—along with the works that flow from this belief. Is that clear enough—or should we continue the debate?