Why do we seek Him?

  When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ²⁷ Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal."   John 6:25-27

John begins his gospel by defining Jesus as the "Word" ("logos") which became flesh. (1:14). It was through the word of God that all things were made in creation as God spoke the world into existence.  Then in the backwater of Judea appears one known as John the Baptist.  The locals recognize him as a prophet and went out into the wilderness to find him.  We discover that he is a first cousin of Jesus.  He proclaims Jesus as the lamb of God who comes to take away the sins of the world.  By Chapter 6 Jesus has learned of his cousin's death at the hands of King Herod.  Jesus, in turn, goes into the wilderness and the crowds follow him.  He feeds them miraculously while teaching them that he is the bread of heaven.  He sends his disciples on ahead of him to escape the crowds and catches up with them at night during a storm. This is when Peter receives his "baptism" after walking on the water.  They arrive at Genneserat in the morning and the crowds follow with the sick all the way to Capernaum. Perhaps Jesus was still grieving the loss of his cousin.  One can sense the frustration of his being hounded by those who want physical healing and satisfaction. By verse 66 many of them found his words to be so harsh, that they left.  Perhaps that was the Master's intention?  To thin out the crowds of those whose only interest is on "my needs".  Perhaps he was looking for disciples who could discern the spiritual needs over the physical.   I think this is the key to his discourse.  At the end, he asks them if they are willing to go with him?  The response of Peter is one of my favorite passages.  Perhaps Peter was still drying out from his previous night's experience of being wet behind the ears?  But Peter seems to get it:

 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life;  and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."       

John 6: 68-69

This is the precursor to Peter's great confession in Matthew 16 and Mark 8.  And, I think it is the path of faith for all disciples.  When we have tried everything else and it has failed, where else is one going to go?  Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and his righteousness.  When we can call upon him as both Lord and Savior, we are no longer bystanders watching from the cheap seats.  We are in the game with Him.  When we begin to grasp that we labor for the food that does not perish, we gain more than a ticket to heaven.  We get to join God on His journey where we discover that it is not about us.  It is the road less traveled and it is the narrow gate. But, it is confirmed in one's heart by the seal set upon each child of God by our Father in heaven.  It is so worth it!

Triunity

The word "trinity" is not in the Bible.  The ability to describe God of scripture is one of those anomalies of faith. In our spiritual world 1=3.  I recently ran across this new word "triunity" and I really like it.  "Tri - unity" seems to make a lot more sense to my feeble organic time space linear mind of mine.  It is a difficult thing to grasp how the God whom we worship is the same God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob of whom Moses declared "The Lord  your God is one".....and, at the same time in the book of Genesis we have God saying "let us make man in our image."  This cannot be understood in human terms.  


The biblical story begins with God (the father) speaking the world (through his "word") into existence.  In Genesis 1:1 we find the "Spirit of God ( the Holy Spirit) was moving over the face of the waters.  We later read in John 1 that the "word" (Greek for 'logos' ) became "flesh".  That person was the Messiah who came to fulfill all scripture.


I recently ran across a passage in Isaiah that also seems to say this.  I think Isaiah alluded to "triunity" when he prophesied; but, I would dare to suggest that he too probably did not fully understand it. In Isaiah chapter 48 God says through his prophet:

 ¹² "Hearken to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am He, I am the first, and I am the last. ¹³ My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.  


Clearly the speaker here is God the creator who is the God of Israel.  He then goes on to say in verse 16:


 ¹⁶ Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there." And now the Lord GOD has sent me and his Spirit.  



If God is speaking then who is the  "Lord GOD" the "Spirit" and "me"?  Even more confusing still is the Lord God and the Holy Spirit sent the One who is called the First and the Last---the one who laid the foundations of the earth.


Clearly, all three of these entities are God.  Isaiah revealed all three personalities of the Godhead:  "the Lord God" referring to the "Father"; "His Spirit" referring to the Holy Spirit; and "Me" referring tho the speaker, who later identifies himself in verse 17 as the "Redeemer...thus the speaker is the Messiah.  Seven hundred years later, Jesus was born as a baby in Bethlehem fulfilling the prophecy of Micah 5:2 and many other scriptures as well.  He performed only miracles that God could do, including raising the dead and admitted to being the Messiah (Matt. 26:63-64; John 4:25-26).  Years later he appeared to the apostle John on the island of Patmos and declared:


"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty"  (Rev. 1:18)


Paul wrote to the church in  at Colosse concerning Jesus (which echos Isaiah) "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth."  


God exists in three persons; yet, there is only one God.  Bible believing Christians who accept Triunity worship the God of Israel who spoke through the prophet Isaiah and believe that Jesus is the Messiah.