"Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal...This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." - John 6:26-27, 29
Jesus had a large crowd before Him (5,000) and He felt compassion for them. He then miraculously fed them all and had food to spare. Now many from this great crowd were following Him - but only because they wanted their bellies filled. So Jesus, not wanting them to miss the point, confronted them with the Gospel, saying, "I am the bread of life, He who comes to me will not hunger." He had told them they are coming to Him for the wrong reasons - to fill there temporal needs. What they needed was eternal life. But many began to grumble and say, "This is hard teaching -who can listen to it?" As a result, many of His disciples withdrew and walked with Him no more. But our Master had declared to them everlasting life but they walked away from Him. Was Jesus too harsh? Do you think He had regretted saying those things? Did He have a lot to learn about being a politician? Perish the thought!
He spoke the hard truth - that unless they believed in Him they would perish. What love! A true friend always speaks truth - in love - but the truth is spoken.
I recently inquired about a churches outreach ministry. They have a benevolence fund (what a time for it) and give generously to the needy that come to our church seeking help. Be it a gas card, help with rent, help with a car payment, or help with groceries - they give as they could to the needy. They even have established follow-ups with them and provide financial planning and other helps. This is a wonderful thing to do. They are being good Samaritans. Or are they???
I asked how they share the gospel with all these people that come to the church seeking help, and was sad to discover that they do not share the gospel "with words" but through their actions. In other words, they thought their good deeds were "enough".
My friends, faith comes by hearing! The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation! We are commanded to teach, to preach the gospel and to baptize, and to proclaim repentance in His name for the forgiveness of sins. I am not saying we shouldn't help the needy, but use this to start a conversation about the greater Hope - Jesus Christ Himself. But I am saying that without the Gospel, we are handing them a cup of cold water on their way to hell. Not only that, but our silence preaches, "Peace! Peace!" when there is no peace.
Think of the message you preach to them! What will they think when they walk away: "What nice people, surely they must be going to heaven because the are such good people!" Is this the gospel: do good to others you will be a friend of God?
Be bold and compassionate by feeding the body and the soul. Proclaim the bread from heaven. Some (if not many) may grumble and walk with you no more, BUT His sheep will hear His voice and follow Him, and like Peter say, "You have the words of eternal life."
