Jesus: The Main Thing
Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven't believed in me even though you have seen me."
The very idea of being thirsty, exhausts me. That has been my week in nutshell, thirsty. I use to think being thirsty for Jesus was a good thing, but I can say from experience it is not. Picture a dog, how it pants when it's hot, tired, and thirsty. Personally, it looks very tiring.
Throughout John 6, Jesus reveals the heart of God to his disciples: "But don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you." (Verse 27)
"This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent." (Verse 29)
As someone who loves the gifts of the spirit such as healing, prophecy, words of knowledge, tongues, gift of faith, etc. I have spent a lot of my life as a christian who is hungry for revival and seeing people know God and experience him on personal level. Recently I have become quite burned out with my walk, ministry, and daily life as a lover of Jesus. My faith is still is strong is ever, but there comes a time where you become thirsty (tired). I want to propose a question: Why do we get thirsty? And believe me, we all do get thirsty at some point. I will let you answer that for yourself.
I have been "tired" because I've missed out on what Jesus has been trying to do while I have been pursuing the gifts. Now, please don't think that I am saying not to pursue the spiritual gifts, because that would be anti-biblical. In 1 Corinthians, Paul says,"Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives, especially the ability to prophesy." Here is the problem with this. We can get so caught up in pursuing the gifts, being happy with them that we fail to understand who Jesus is. We can cast out demons in Jesus' name, we can lay hands on the sick, raise the dead, but we if don't know him, we have missed the mark.
All of the gifts are perishable. They will eventually fade away. Again, I am not trying to steer you away from those things. I am just wanting to get you back to the main thing, Jesus. I have spent a lot of time pursuing the gifts, using the gifts, growing in the gifts, committing to seeing God do some miraculous things through my willingness to take risks and pray for people, prophecy over them, see them get healed, and encounter them. But what is an encounter without love?
"Love looks like knowing God, but more so being known by him."
I have let the gifts identify me when I should have let the love and compassion of God identify me. My validation had come from serving a lot and using my gifts. This had pushed me to a place that I never meant to end up. I was thirsty. Thirsty for a drink of love that God had been trying to pour on my tired soul, but I missed it because I was concerned about the "perishable things.”
I want you to know that the gifts are important, but they are an overflow of who Jesus is, not who we are. Yes, God wants to use us, but he wants to know us first. When you use something, it eventually breaks and you throw it away. God doesn't throw us away because we aren't just an instrument. We are his children. His heart is to not leave us broken. He is about restoration. He is about raising us up. He is our continual feast.
I want to encourage you. Just like Paul said in 1 Corinthians. Pursue love! Pursue being loved first and watch how well you love people without any strings attached. The gifts are an overflow of being loved and knowing love. Be like Mary who chose the only the thing that which is necessary, the presence of God. God is love and he has plenty to give you so the you can give it out. Practice a daily lifestyle of being filled up so that you can live a lifestyle of pouring out.
