April 24, 2024
Contentment is the gift of God received by faith being fully convinced of the all sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Paul told Timothy that “godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment” (1 Timothy 6:6). Godliness is a great profit to the believer if he is content with what he has been entrusted with.
Discontentment can rob the believer of the benefits of godliness. It is foolish for anyone to seek satisfaction and contentment outside of Christ. We can do nothing without Him (John 15:5).
JAKE MELARA/Magdeleine.coJesus is the only way to God, but He is also the only way to have true satisfaction. Our motivations must be right when coming to the Savior. Jesus saw right through the facade that many of his followers had (John 6:26-27). They were working for the wrong thing. They were seeking temporary carnal satisfaction.
Jesus is too majestic and marvelous to simply satisfy earthly needs. Churches must use great discernment when ministering to the earthly needs of people. We must not preach the social gospel, but the true Gospel. Vance Havner said that if the social gospel had been around when the prodigal son was wandering around that “someone would have given him a sandwich and he never would have come home.”
The spiritual need is the greater need. Do not feed their bellies without filling their souls.
Jesus told those Jewish followers that He was superior to the manna sent by God to the Israelites. I find myself very thirsty when eating a meal composed mostly of bread. However, Jesus said that He, as the Bread of Life, satisfies hunger and thirst (John 6:35). Imagine a bread that meets all your needs! A Bread that can be gathered every day, unlike the manna. A Bread that never spoils, unlike the manna. A Bread out of heaven that rejects no one.
Despite the attempt of some to treat verses 35-40 as proof texts for unbiblical doctrines, Jesus' emphasis is that this Bread is free for all and free to all. Anyone who comes to the Bread will certainly not be sent away. All that come will be satisfied by the Bread and protected by the Bread until the very end of time.
The Father’s will is clear. “Everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40).
There is no satisfaction outside of Jesus Christ. In fact, the Apostle Paul states that “in Him you have been made complete” (Colossians 2:10). The key to contentment is to know by faith that Christ has a monopoly on satisfaction.
The lost and dying world hungers for the Bread of Life. Are you living the Christian walk in such a way that your contentment manifest the satisfaction that Jesus offers?
