Daily Devotional

I was recently asked by a former student to write a daily devotion he is putting together for his facebook friends. I jumped on the chance to help him share Christ's love to his buddies. Here is my entry. It was to be on worldly love, I took a round about approach to it. Here it is:

Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. John 6:10

I love this story of feeding the five thousand, found in John 6. There is so much going on here in this text. Can you imagine the size and magnitude of this event? It must have been huge. I bet it was a wonderful sight to see. I could camp out here and visit about this text for a few weeks. I really do like this event.

That is until you get in the middle of it and start to experience hands on what was happening here. Imagine 5,000 people in one place. I bet it was hot, grimy, sticky, and down right miserable. But then again, if you know me I have a hard time with mercy and compassion. I love a crowd don’t get me wrong, but I don’t love the people in a crowd. I bet it was loud and hot, sweaty and stinky, crowded and cramped. All things that make me want to run away from this story.

Thankfully Jesus and his disciples are different than me. (Thankfully Jesus makes me different too, Amen!) Look what happens in verse 6, Jesus says “have the people sit down.” Notice what it doesn’t say after his statement. It doesn’t say and the people sat down, or Jesus watched them from a distance, or Jesus and his disciples ate at a distance away. No it says, “and the men sat.” Jesus and his disciples clearly join them in this dinner. Despite my imperfections and my lack of mercy, I love this verse. It is probably my favorite part of this text. Jesus truly loved people and he still loves people!

This is where we must be willing to follow Jesus’ example. In our society of fast paced living, social media, and back stages and green rooms, do we ever truly get our hands dirty in God’s work? Do we love his people? Do we take time to sit and eat with his people, even if it is hard, dirty, sweaty, stinky, grimy, gross, etc.? We must remember 1 Peter 4:11 “Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God, whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen.”

Our world around us is dying, and they need you to be willing to sit and eat, to get your hands dirty! God is calling you to love! How will you do that today?