When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
John 6:25 – 30

Jesus is talking here to a crowd of people. He had walked on water, fed the 5,000 with only five barley loaves and two fish which has compelled the crowd to seek Him out so they might attain more food. Jesus teaches them that they should not be seeking for temporary food that perishes, but for food that is eternal. The crowd asks him what they must do to get this eternal bread. See, these were Jewish people who believed in the Mosaic law. They were asking, according to the works of the Mosaic Law what they could do in order to find eternal life.  They were accustomed to working and they recognised that God had a requirement for them to fulfill. They wanted to know what the requirement was so they could please God and obtain eternal life by doing good works. In verse 29, Jesus flatly denies this thinking. They could not please God by doing good works!

There is only one work of God – only one thing that God requires. For us to put our trust in the One the Father has sent. How are we to work for salvation, for eternal life? Only by believing in the one God has sent, Jesus the Messiah.

What must we do, to be doing the works of God?

“This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

There is a difference between hearing about, believing in Christ and receiving Him. Only those who receive Him become God’s children. Jesus is the only way to God. Many people believe in God. Those present at the Crucifixion believed in God. In fact, the Jewish leaders crucified Christ in the name of God. Saul, who later became Paul, believed in God and thought he was serving Him when he was seeking out Christ followers to kill them. There are atrocities committed all over the world, in the ‘name of God’. But believing and receiving… that’s different.

What does it mean to receive Jesus… to believe in His name? Christ comes to us. He reveals Himself to us. He confronts us. We simply respond to Him by completely trusting and accepting Him. To fully reply upon Him and give him our allegiance is to receive.

‘He gave’. Two little words that carry great significance. The word gave tells us of the grace of God within salvation. We are not naturally born as children of God. We aren’t born with the authourity to be a child of God. There is no part to us, no desire, no identity, no resource that can bring us to salvation. It is a sovereign act of God! We supernaturally become the children of God by the work of God, the Father.

God gave, we receive. Not much happening there on our behalf. Grace: received, not achieved.

This act of God is a mystery; we cannot understand it with our human understanding. But by faith, we know it is true. When we accept Christ, God changes our heart. His Spirit will flows into our heart and we have new life. It’s all about Him!

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God…”

John pointed to Christ. Jesus is the object of belief. John’s ministry and purpose are important but he was merely the forerunner who announced the coming Messiah. Like John, we bear witness to the light but it is Christ in us which shines! Everyone that sees us – sees a few gleams of the true Light. We cannot save anyone. We can’t get them into heaven. We cannot give life. But we can point. We point the way to the lost, the dying, and the hurting. We point them to Christ: the one and only true light.

But how can we point others to Jesus? What are some practical ways in which we can bear witness to Christ? We can witness with our words. Sharing daily with our children, that which the Lord is doing and revealing to us. Telling others what He has done for us. Do you blog? Write your testimony on your blog.  Always looks for ways to point others to Christ. We are often quick to share a health tip or a money saving tip with others – how about sharing The One who can guarantee eternal life? What ways can I point my children to Jesus? How can I use my time online to bear witness to Him?

We also bear witness through our lives. When we claim to be a Christian, a follower of Christ, we are His witnesses. His representatives – in word, thought and deed.

“He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.”

John the Baptist was sent by God. He was equipped and commissioned by God for a special ministry. He pointed to The Truth of Jesus, the Revealer of the Father. We too, are here on God’s business – sent by God into this world. For a purpose. God has a plan and a purpose for each life.

Do you think that the people in the Bible were exceptional… with their own specific errand on their own specific mission? Maybe so. But it is also true that we, homeschool mums, are on a similar mission. I’ve not seen a burning bush nor received my commission from Jesus’ lips directly but nevertheless, I have a definite work to do. My work, my mission, is in simple obedience to God. I am to submit to Him. I am commanded, like John the Baptist, to point to Jesus Christ.

Am I living out God’s purpose for me?  Am I doing that which He wants me to do? Am I using my gifts, talents, passions and interests for His glory?

I want to make the most of the time I have here… I can only do this by looking to God for direction. In this, I will know that I am fulfilling the mission that He has for me here on earth.

“There was a man sent from God.”

In the beginning was the Word…

In the beginning, before the time when heavens and earth were even created the Word already existed. The Word existed from all eternity… from the beginning of beginnings. The Word was not created and didn’t have a beginning.

… The Word was with God…

The Word was in relationship with God.

…and the Word was God.

Here we see an identity both of God and The Word. The Word was in relationship with God and yet He was God.  He was God and yet also present with God in the beginning. It is this Word who became incarnate in Jesus. The word, incarnate, simply means to clothe with flesh or to embody in flesh.

These truths seem impossible or hard to grasp with our logical minds yet God is not bound by our humanness (God’s ways are not our ways). This is indeed the most profound truth in the universe.  This sentence is quite simple yet it is one that theologians for centuries have grappled with because these words talk about the deity of the Godhead and deity is only comprehended by faith. Christ was there in the beginning. He always was. Surely then, we can trust in Christ, we can rest in Him and know that he is the same, yesterday, today and forever.  Your Saviour is God and He will keep you safe.

As we journey through the next 31 days, I want to point you to Jesus Christ – Christ as God in human flesh – the incarnation of a divine person with God before creation. As we learn about Jesus Christ and His nature we will see that these are indeed divine attributes- that He truly is God. I want to reflect upon that child, the babe born in Bethlehem and how He is the living God manifest to us.  For it is in Jesus that the unknowable became knowable, the invisible became visible, the untouchable became touchable and the unreachable became reachable.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”