The Rev. Canon Leonard L. Hamlin, Sr.

John 6:27-40

Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.”

“So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?”

How many times have we been caught asking similar questions like those who have been captured in this Gospel text? It may be difficult to admit, but time after time and in certain seasons of life, we may all have asked God to prove God’s self by sending just one more sign. The witnesses in our text were struggling to comprehend the words of Jesus and concluded that in order to believe in eternal truths, they needed natural proof. The request was even for a sign to be given in a form they had heard of being provided in the past. Some might say they were asking that God would provide proof by doing what God had already done. We are often missing the new work and revelation being shared with us because we are too focused on looking for the past work that has been experienced by us. Our faith challenges us to believe not solely on what has been done, but on who Jesus is. These witnesses in our text were struggling to come to a conclusion about Jesus as they listened to words of Jesus. This is true for us today as the different situations we often face in our day-to-day living provide the occasion for either growth and deepening or a false sense of security that is rooted in reflections of the past. Faith is calling us forward and the first step is that we believe. “God, show us where you are working and let us join you in your work.”

Faithfully,
Leonard

How to reach the masses, *men of ev’ry birth,
For an answer Jesus gave the key:
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
Will draw all men unto Me.”
Lift Him up, lift Him up;
Still He speaks from eternity:
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
Will draw all men unto Me.”
Oh! the world is hungry for the Living Bread,
Lift the Savior up for them to see;
Trust Him, and do not doubt the words that He said,
“I’ll draw all men unto Me.”

(Lift Him Up” by Johnson Oatman)