Good reasons to listen

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't punch you," yells the bad guy in a story. Even if you don't read the rest, you just know that the hero thought of the perfect thing to say to stop the bad guy!

Like a person in a story, we all sometimes want "one good reason" why we should do something. Even Jesus had that problem: In this week's Gospel (John 6:24-35), the people He tries to teach about God want a good reason to follow Him!

"Do a miracle, and we'll believe in you," a crowd told Jesus. "Moses gave starving people bread from heaven, once. What can you do?" Jesus answered: "Only God gives bread from heaven. God sent me -- I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me and believes in me will never be hungry or thirsty."

In a story, the hero always finds a good reason for the bad guy to give up. It's harder for real kids. You might hate to do anything without a reason! Why take out the garbage unless you'll get paid for it? Why be good at the mall unless you'll get ice cream?

Jesus' followers felt the same way. They wondered why they should stick with Jesus if He wasn't going to do miracles like giving them bread from heaven. "Give us one good reason why we should follow you!" they told Him.

When you ask for a good reason, you'll often get one -- but maybe not the reason you want. Maybe you won't get ice cream if you're good at the mall, but you will make shopping easier for your family, so you'll go home faster. You might not get paid to take out the garbage, but if it doesn't go, it'll stink up the house!

Jesus didn't give His followers the good reason they asked for, either -- but His reason was even better.

"If I gave you bread, you wouldn't be hungry for a while," He said. "But if you follow me, I'll be with you always, and you'll go to heaven someday, where you'll never be hungry again!"

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me see that my good reasons for getting things done aren't always the same as yours! Amen.

(07-31-97)

[[In-content Ad]]