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SEEKING CHRIST FOR THE WRONG REASONS
As long as a person is sincere, does it matter
why they come to Christ? The Lord Jesus answered this question. The Bible
records the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand men plus women and
children by the Lord Jesus. He
multiplied the five little barley loaves and
the two fish belonging to a lad.
The multitude of people in that place thought
to make Jesus a king by force. They had found a man whom they thought would
supply them with food and who could heal their bodies. He was the kind of fellow
they wanted for their ruler. No more work, no more sickness: life would be easy
for them with Jesus.
So the Lord Jesus departed secretly from them
by crossing the sea at night. The next day the people took boats and came after
Him. They were seeking Jesus not in a spiritual way, but because they wanted
their natural needs and wants met. John records the words of the Lord Jesus to
them: “...Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye
seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves,
and were filled,” (John 6:26).
John in his Gospel uses a particular Greek
word for “miracles.” It actually means “sign.” The miracles recorded by John are
miracles designed to teach us. These miracles teach us just who Jesus is and
about his power, etc. They are revelatory in nature. But they mean nothing to
those who do not see themselves as helplessly lost sinners.
So what Jesus is saying was that they did not seek Him
because they understood from the miracles who He is. They just wanted to be fed
and healed and their other carnal desires satisfied. They were seeking Jesus
because they ate of the loaves and had their stomachs filled. They were seeking
Christ for the wrong reasons!
Sadly, there are people today who also seek
Christ for the wrong reasons. One preacher was heard to say that he came to
Jesus “for all he could get.” Wrong reason! Sinners are always ready to find
things to consume upon their own lusts desires. After all, lost sinners are
pleasure seeking animals and if Jesus gives them pleasure by giving them wealth
and health as some claim, they will seek Him. But they seek Him for the wrong
reasons and will not find Him.
Later on in His conversation with them, the
Lord Jesus said to those seekers-after-the-loaves these words:
“But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and
believe not,”(John 3:36). This crowd of people
who had been seeking Jesus were not believers and so it is today. Those who seek
Him for carnal reasons – in order to satisfy their natural desires – are not
seeking Him for the right reasons. They may believe the historical facts about
the Lord Jesus, but they are not believers. They do not have
“the faith of God's elect,”
(Titus 1:1).
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