SEAL OF GOD'S APPROVAL - PART 1

TUESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2022

Shortly after Jesus had fed the five thousand and walked on water, the crowd who had eaten the bread blessed and multiplied by Jesus at the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), began to look for Him everywhere. Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor His disciples were still near the place the miracle happened, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?" Jesus answered them saying, "Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill." Then He counselled them on what was more important than a mere idea of the nourishment of their bodies.

Reference: John 6:27 New Living Translation (NLT) "But don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval."

The joy of a born again Christian will be full when he spends time seeking for the things of the Spirit more than anything else in this present world. By this, I don't mean that anyone should neglect feeding and taking care of their body. Moreover, the Scripture is informing us that the realities of eternal life are perfect, unchangeable, and eternal and so, it pays to pay more attention to them. Jesus wants us to be free from too much of earthly concerns that keep us far from attaining heavenly realities and bliss. However, the three terms that are remarkably important in our referenced Scripture are:

1. Energy 2. Life 3. Seal of God's approval

According to Jesus' statement, the first line says, Don't be too concerned about perishable things like food, meaning that He was referring to the food necessary for bodily growth and good health condition. Simply put, they are for the nourishment of the body which in turn, sustains our physical life. The second line says, "Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you", meaning that its very important what we focus our strength and vitality on, and it should not only be invested on things that sustain physical growth or activity. Therefore we should also consider the importance of feeding our spirit with the Word of God, which implies, seeking the eternal life that only the Son of Man can give you. Why? Its because God the Father has given Christ the seal of His approval, which I will shed light on, in the successive parts of this topic.

Now let's start with the term, "Energy", which is the first concept I noted in the above referenced Scripture. I want to ask an important question: What is energy? In accordance with my study, the Greek word translated as Energy is "Enérgeia", and it suggests a living force; a condition that describes the capacity to do any work. It is the state of being vigorous and efficient in relation to accomplishing anything. Now as a Christian, Jesus is communicating to you through today's topic to acknowledge your energy and identify what you spend it more on and where you spend it more. Know what matters most and then plan wisely to invest your energy on eternal matters more than you do on physical matters of earthly concern. Got it?

Beloved, make no mistakes (about it), the things you invest your energy on, as well as the quality of the energy you invest in anything, will always determine the kinds of result you get in life. If we are sure we want to travel far with God, we must invest our energy properly. And if we must invest our energy properly, we should equally endeavour to have some absolute control over our gratifications, passions and desires, because as long as they are ungoverned, our energy can be wasted in a wrong way. But as we consider the preference of investing our energy more on spiritual realities, which Jesus suggested to those who came to Him seeking for perishable things, we are likely to succeed in everything pertaining to our life on earth, as well as go far with God, in relation to things of the Spirit. Stay tuned for part 2. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Proverbs 12:25; Proverbs 18:21; Colossians 3:1-2; Ephesians 4:23.

Guided Prayer: Heavenly Father, I trust in the supremacy of your Word. Therefore, I invest my energy more wisely on eternal matters because you satisfy all the positive longings and capacities of both human nature and divine nature. I acknowledge that good and lasting success is found in you, and actualised through increased confidence in practising your promises. Thank you Lord for supplying oil to my inward machinery, which fuels my energy for the right investments with ease and efficiency in Jesus' Name, Amen!