God's Purposes

“When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.”
‭‭John‬ ‭6:15‬ ‭NLT‬‬
Verses 1-15 of John 6 tell the story of Jesus using five barley loaves and two fish to feed a multitude. The number could be estimated between 15,000-20,000. The men alone were about 5,000.
“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.)”
‭‭John‬ ‭6:10‬ ‭NLT‬‬
When you add the same amount of women and children the number easily triples in approximation. This was an extraordinary miracle. Jesus used one boys groceries to feed the masses. Nothing like this had ever been seen. The people were amazed and wanted to force Him to become their King. However, Jesus knew His purpose. Being an earthly monarch wasn't His reason for coming. His purpose was redemption through a perfect sacrifice. He was born to die so that we might live.
Consider the temptation that would accompany an opportunity like this. Popularity, power, prestige, position, prowess, etc. All of this would go to our heads and feed us with selfish pride. Jesus recognized the fleshly temptation and rejected the notion. Gracefully, and non-chalantly, He slipped away before they had the chance to make their move. What a lesson for us all! Fame and fortune are not the goals of our lives. Fulfilling our God given purpose is paramount! We can easily lose our focus when we get caught up in popularity, power, prestige, position, and prowess. We can climb the worldly ladder of success and fall to the depths of depravity. Pursuing our own fleshly ambitions and aspirations can ruin our lives and its purpose. If our hopes and dreams are not submitted to the Lordship of Jesus we are headed in the wrong direction.
Jesus lived for only 33 years, yet His life changed the world. The change didn't come through popularity, power, prestige, position, and prowess. Jesus changed the world because He fulfilled His God ordained purpose!!! Jesus said:
“I brought glory to You here on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17:4‬ ‭NLT‬
Until you and I submit everything we are, and everything we have, to the Lordship of Jesus Christ we are living in vain and squandering the potential of our lives. We cannot measure the value of our lives in worldly defined success. True, eternal success is a life surrendered to Gods purpose, lived beneath His power, and content with the position of His choosing. Don't get sucked into the vacuum of this carnal, temporary world. Live for the eternal world to come. Your life is much greater than what the current world can ever hold a candle to.
“If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭17:33‬ ‭NLT‬‬
In Matthews gospel, Jesus says it this way:
“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16:25‬ ‭NLT‬‬
Ask God to help you understand His will for your life and live to live eternally. Set your eyes on things above, not things below.
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:1-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬
By the way, Jesus didn't need the crowd to make Him a king. He was, and is, King of kings and Lord of lords!
(see Revelation 17:14 and 19:16).
One day, all kings will tremble before Him and all knees will bow before Him!
“that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:10-11‬ ‭NLT‬‬
“and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding His blood for us.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭NLT‬‬