Reflections

By Hope Reidt

Search and you will find

The miracle of the five loaves and two fishes is recorded in all four gospels, and details the miracle of Jesus feeding more than 5,000 people from just one boy’s meal. 

It was so incredible that there were even leftovers (what a testimony to the overwhelming abundance of God). 

The day after the miracle of the five loaves and the two fishes, and Jesus walking on the water, we read more about those that had been affected by the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes. One can imagine what an impact seeing that miracle would have had on anyone present. There were so many people present that they didn’t even realize when Jesus and his disciples left, not until the next day. 

In John 6:24, we read that “When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.”

The people recognized that Jesus was no longer there with them. Someone may say that during Jesus’s earthly ministry His physical presence would be easy to recognize, as would His absence, but this simple phrase “When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there,” is included in this passage for a reason. Though it took a while, those who had been fed by the five loaves and two fishes just the day before recognized when Jesus wasn’t with them. As Christians, how much more ought we to understand Christ’s presence in our life. 

Your first thought may be that sometimes it’s extremely hard to understand Christ’s presence in your life, and I would completely agree. There may be times when we “feel” He’s not close. When this happens, we should recall to mind the people in John 6; the reason they knew that Christ was absent from them was that they were actively looking for Him. 

They saw that the boats were gone, they knew that Jesus didn’t go with His disciples, and they knew that He was no longer with them on their side of the sea (v 22). During the times when we’re missing Christ’s presence in our life, it is very likely because we are not actively looking for Him. 

In such times, we must, like the people, go on the search. “When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.” (v 24). The people didn’t just say, “Well, Christ isn’t here, guess we’ll just head home now and go back to our old life,” no, they got in a boat and went to the most likely place where they thought He would be. 

C.S. Lewis wrote in his book Mere Christianity, “look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.” How does this translate to our present day? We should go to the places where Christ is most likely to be found – in His church and with His people. We should seek Him out through the pages of His Word. 

It’s important to note as well that seeking after Christ will not always be easy. For the people in John 6, most of them were poor, and likely didn’t have much experience traveling by sea, but that is exactly what they did to find Jesus: “they also took shipping” (v 24).

Seeking after Christ is something that will ultimately provide us with comfort, but it will not always be convenient. 

Rest assured however, that just as Azariah told Asa, “If ye seek him, he will be found of you;” (2 Chronicles 15:2). 

When we earnestly seek after Christ, we will find Him.