Shiny Things

Shiny Things

After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” John 6:14

There’s a reason Jesus deemphasized his miracles and emphasized his words when he was living on earth. The reason is people tended to get hung up on what Jesus did and not on who he was. And in doing so they missed the point of why he came.

Jesus did miracles to get people’s attention. Yes he was compassionate for the hungry he fed, and yes he grieved the plight of the lepers he healed. But his miraculous healings and feedings were never ends in themselves. They were always the means to an eternal end. What Jesus did pointed to who he was.

That’s why John called Jesus’ miracles signs. They pointed beyond themselves to the real nature of the one who did them.

We need to be careful today not to get enamored with the what of Jesus. We’re often guilty of presenting Jesus as the great need-meeter, or the great comforter, or the great healer. And he is those things. But he is also more, much more.

Don’t follow Jesus because of what he can do for you. Don’t buy the lie that if you follow Jesus you’ll be rich or famous or problem-free. The Son didn’t live that way, and neither will his followers. Avoid chasing after the shiny things of the Gospel.

Instead, associate yourself with the gritty, dirty, blood-stained message of Jesus’ death for sinners. The holy for the unholy, the infinite for the finite, the sublime for the pagan, the divine for human, and Jesus for ________________ (put your name in the blank).

That’s the only real reason to follow Jesus. Everything else is secondary.