John chapter 6 describes the time when Jesus walked on water. It was the night after he had fed five thousand people with just five barley loaves and two fish, and the crowds had been amazed by that event. As a consequence, the people were looking for Jesus as soon as day broke, and they were surprised that he had managed to get to the other side of the Sea of Galilee without using a boat. But why were they looking for Jesus?
Jesus said to them, “You aren’t really looking for me because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves until you were full. Don’t work for perishable food. Instead work for the food which remains to eternal life.” In other words, they were hoping to learn a few magic tricks which they could use to make more food appear. They were looking at the small picture of the immediate future — today’s meal — rather than the big picture — the completely transformed way of living that Jesus was offering.
I wonder if we have become any wiser some 2,000 years later. Our daily efforts are devoted to the pursuit of money so that we can eat and buy clothes and household appliances and entertainment, all to satisfy our own small pictures of the immediate future. But the time is rapidly approaching for every person when food and clothes and other possessions will be worthless. How much of our efforts will have been spent in “working for the food which remains to eternal life”?