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Articles
Contentment in Christ
The purpose of Jesus’ miracles was to provide ample evidence to His claim of deity and its reality. The gospel of John was written to promote faith in those who had not witnessed the miracles of Jesus –
30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:30-31).
The miracles of Jesus have been recorded and preserved throughout the ages, so that we are without excuse to not have faith and trust in the Bible’s record of Jesus and His ministry. This is the direct fulfillment of Jesus’ statement to Thomas – “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” (John 20:29b).
Each of the miracles performed by Jesus demonstrated His power and control over all the physical elements of His creation. Jesus was not a part of God’s creation, but rather was the spoken Word from the beginning. John wrote –
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being (John 1:1-3).
Our faith in Christ is not built on falsified claims with insufficient evidence, but rather substantial evidence of the inspired Word of the Holy Spirit. The Word is confirmed. The Word is truth. The Word is everything needed both to live and grow in the sight of the Father.
One miracle recorded in the gospel of John that is also found in the other three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) is the feeding of the five thousand. The compassion of Jesus manifested on this occasion is like a Shepherd who knows the needs of His flock and is capable of leading them to green pastures and still waters. The Shepherd has the power and desire to sustain His flock. The meal needed to feed five thousand men, not including women and children, would have had cost an enormous amount, but Jesus fed the multitude from a young lad’s lunch.
The small amount of food, five barley loaves and two fish, found in the young lad’s lunch would have led some to believe that the multitude was only given a small snack, but that would be wrong. The gospel writer wrote –
11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted (John 6:11).
The multitude were given “as much as they wanted.” These men and women did not walk away famished, hungry, or even needing something more substantial. The Lord supplied all that was needed to feed the multitude. The Shepherd knew His flock’s need and fulfilled His duty in sustaining His flock. The problem with those who were seeking Him that day is that they were not satisfied or content with His provisions.
We live in a world that still fails to find contentment in Christ. The miracles of Jesus are no longer sufficient, but something more is needed for us to believe and obey His Word. The providence of God is insufficient, because there is always something newer, better, and bigger that I “need” in my daily life. Covetousness ravages the hearts and minds of Christians just as easily as those who are living in the world. Instead, of finding our contentment in the provisions of our Shepherd, we continuously desire earthly possessions.
John wrote that Jesus gave to the multitude “as much as they wanted.” Our Savior continues to bless us with so many blessings and the same could be easily recorded of our generation. Every breath is but a small reminder of the Shepherd’s sustainment of our lives. How are we going to react to the Father’s providence in our lives? Will we allow this world to tempt us with covetousness, or will we find contentment in the Shepherd?
