Yes, I did indeed eat 18 of them.
Year’s ago, Denise and I went to Red Lobster in San Diego for our anniversary. It was a grand evening for two broke bible college students to splurge and ‘live it up’ for a night. Just so you know, I have a thing for Red Lobster. I always get the Admiral’s Feast and I load up on those amazing, little garlic butter biscuits that they serve with the meal. And when I say ‘load up’, I really do mean it.
On this particular evening I was pretty feisty and jokingly bonding well with our server. I asked her to keep those hot little rolls coming because I am ‘quite fond of them.’ Well, she did. She kept them coming, and I kept eating them. And eating them. And eating them. I also ate my entire Admiral’s Feast (the sin of gluttony, I know, I know).
To make matters worse (or better so I thought), when the meal was over and we were getting ready to go, I asked our server if she could sneak us a baggie of those little biscuits to go! She did. Bonus!
On the way back to our beach cottage, I ate some more of the buttery goodness. A few more were consumed while settling in for our romantic evening together. While my beautiful bride was snuggling up with her Admiral (that’s me), I was beginning to feel something swirling in my stomach, and it was not good. I officially had a big gut-ache. Upon further review we determined that I had single-handedly eaten…wait for it…wait for it…18 Red Lobster biscuits. Yes, I did indeed eat 18 of them!!!
In John 6, shortly after Jesus and the disciples feed over 5000 people with bread and fish, they gathered again on the other side of the lake and Jesus said some important words to his team:
“You are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:26,27).
I believe Jesus is challenging his disciples (which includes us) to work for that which lasts – the stuff of eternal life. So often we look to Jesus to only get our fill rather than partnering with to see the miraculous happen in the lives of others. The disciples had just had the opportunity to join him in feeding over 5000 people with a very little amount of food, which is nothing short of a miracle. And now, one day later, they are coming to Jesus looking for more food for their belly’s. Jesus called them and continues to call us to something greater.
There has got to be more to life than eating 18 Red Lobster biscuits.
Imagine how many people don’t have any bread while I was gorging on mine. Worse yet, imagine how often we gorge on the presence of God while there are so many that have yet to experience it for themselves. Perhaps all they need is for those of us that enjoy Jesus greatly to simply share with it with them!
Jesus is the Bread of Life and he wants to be freely shared with others.
Maybe the old saying by Martin Luther is true: “We are one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”