Daily Devotion

Monday, February 2, 2026  

Today's Scripture
John 6:15-27

When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” (NRSV)

On a visit to New York City a few years ago, I recall taking my eldest to the famed FAO Schwartz toy store. As we made our way past the entrance, we so happened to catch the beginning of a demonstration. A magician was trying out the contents of a magic kit in front of several children. One of them, quite entranced by the performance, stayed noticeably long after the demonstration was done. He kept pressing the magician for the secret behind his trick. Ever the salesperson, the refrain was, “That will be $34.95.”

I don’t know that the crowds that followed Jesus believed his work to be magic, but like us, many of them no doubt longed to know the secret behind his miracles. This passage follows on the heels of the feeding of the five thousand. It is a paparazzi-like chase of Jesus by the throngs that seek to understand and perhaps harness Jesus’ “magic.” But many in these crowds are also hungry, gripped by the poverty that comes from the struggle to survive in the beleaguered economy of the Galilee region, where Roman taxation and land confiscation made making a living a difficult endeavor. These are the kinds of people who want the abundance that Jesus seems to make possible. Jesus is a present solution to present problems.

And Jesus acknowledges this reasonable desire. But then he pushes it further. There is food that will nourish for a moment, and there is a revelation that will nourish eternally. Loaves of bread symbolize an economy that will offer you a wage for a day. But the food of which Jesus speaks is part of an economy of grace that will feed and bless generations.

I get the feeling that Jesus is calling us to invest in the economy of grace, but in doing so, there are no quick fixes or gimmicks. Instead, there is, as theologian Eugene Peterson puts it, “a long obedience in the same direction.”

How wide is the frame of our thinking? Do we think in terms of the moment, the quick fix, the miracle cure, or do we take the long view, seeking the kind of health and well-being that comes from God’s economy of grace?

Prayer

Eternal God, your ways are above our ways. Broaden our outlook beyond here and new so that we might share with wisdom the enduring gift of your grace. Amen. 

Written by Joseph L. Morrow, Associate Pastor

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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