Thoughts of Chapter 4 (apologies for tardiness)
We are so gloriously constituted that only a person can meet the longings and cravings of our soul. Our finite hearts can only be satisfied with the infinite.
Honestly, that is just awesome. C.S. Lewis talks about a similar concept in Mere Christianity. That our longing for our Creator only shows that we were created for our Creator.
In healing Jesus is taking something that is broken and making it work again. He takes hold of eyes that are not working and makes them see again. He takes hold of ears that are not working and makes them hear again.
DJ talks about how these are impressive but the feeding of the 5,000 is even more so because Jesus is making more of something. I think what is amazing is that in feeding these people he IS opening their eyes, he IS opening their ears, he IS opening their hearts through something as simple as feeding them. I think it's incredible how Jesus continually meets us on our level because he knows the longings of our hearts. Im constantly blown away by how he decides to reveal himself to us in such trivial institutions such as College Life (christian fellowship), growth groups, Sonshine etc. when he is totally capable of just showing up in the most blunt form. Sometimes the most straightforward preaching of the gospel is the man standing on the street corner proclaiming "Jesus loves you! Repent and follow him!" But how often does that get our attention? Jesus instead says, "I know you are lonely. So I will show myself to you through friendship," "I know you are stressed. I will show myself to you through a rest," "I know you feel the need for purpose. I will show myself to you through opportunities to serve," "I know you are hungry. So I will show myself to you through some bread." How humble is He! He meets our needs though they are small in the scheme of eternity. He meets us where we are at even though he could so easily ask us to simply hear and believe. Instead he meets our trivial needs first. What a display of grace and love!
"I think what is amazing is that in feeding these people he IS opening their eyes, he IS opening their ears, he IS opening their hearts through something as simple as feeding them. I think it's incredible how Jesus continually meets us on our level because he knows the longings of our hearts."
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This shows that we expect it to be one way... I ate, now perform... but He delivers in a completely different way. He knows so much better for us. He has scripted it so perfectly, and we can only see the lines as they are fed to us, without seeing the bigger story. Yes I totally agree with you. "What a display of grace and love!"
I can't tell if this is a disagreement or not- totally fine if it is! I think you may have misunderstood this. Mother Theresa maybe describes it more clearly: "He multiplied the loaves of bread and the fish to satisfy their hunger. He gave them food to eat until they couldn't have eaten any more, and twelve baskets were left over. Then he taught them. Only then did He tell them the Good News. This is what we must often do in our work: We must first satisfy the body, so we can then bring Christ to the poor."
ReplyDeleteI totally get the whole idea of even that bread being insufficient to satisfy our needs. I think I was just interpreting it in a more literal sense. And I think we're are completely included amongst the poor that Mother Theresa speaks of.
I re-read my reply and it can be unclear. I agree with you 100%. I was trying to say it reveals my heart in me expecting Jesus to "perform" when I "eat". I agree He IS opening their eyes, hearts. and I was using your line of "what a display of grace and love" as an exclamation! Thanks again for your post Katie.
DeleteI see! (ironic) totally misunderstood you. Definitely thought you meant you needed to perform. Thanks for the clarification and yeah i really resonate with that as well.
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