Tuesday 11 July 2017

Psalm: Psalm 34:11-22

Background

"Give us signs!" "Perform!" "Moses gave us manna", say thepeople who had just been offered the way to eternal life.

"If you just do this God, I'll believe in you forever" mightwell be an arrow prayer of our generation.

Two thousand years apart we still demand that God should performfor our benefit, be it through our prayers or through theorganisation of the Church, its leaders. And even if we realisethat we are asking for the wrong things it seems we can't helpourselves. So Jesus says: "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moseswho gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who givesyou the true bread from heaven" (v. 32).

And the crowd demands - well give us some of that then! Withouteven realising that all they need is stood right before them.

"I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never behungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

The Bible is full of people speaking from their needs - andtheir greatest perceived need was food. In today's world we aretold we need many things and it is difficult to resist gettingcaught up in the consumerist society in which we all belong. Stillthe truth is unchanged: we can have everything in life, but withoutJesus we have nothing. Conversely with Jesus in our lives we arehelped to resist the temptation of this world to demand thateverything - even God - must perform for our own personalbenefit.

To Ponder

• When have we asked things of God - which makes God no more thana performing puppet?

• Do you realise that you have everything that you need?

• Make a list today of the good things you already have from God.And give thanks.