Jesus and his disciples have split the ministry. The disciples were out there preaching and so was Jesus. He was going from town to town performing miracles and the people were loving it. The famous prophet was coming to their community and making sick people better, healing those who were born disabled, casting out demons even raising the dead? What a time! They were all excited to be the recipients of the miracles, but they weren’t actually looking to change. They liked the blessings of God, but weren’t too keen on the relationship part. They wanted the gifts by not the giver.
Have you ever found yourself in this state, where God answering your prayer becomes more important than you connecting with God? I think we all have at one time or another during our faith walk, because God asks for our lives, our obedience and that more often than not requires us to change and change is uncomfortable. It’s way easier to just get the gift than put in the work necessary to cultivate the relationship with God. But there is no gift without the giver, everything flows out of relationship. If the only reason we come to God is to get something, we are doing the exact thing the people in the towns were doing, settling for short term gratification and missing out on everything relationship with God has to offer.
There is so much more for us to know and experience in God!
by Kalesha Peters
