How big is my salary? How much do I earn? What is the most expensive thing I can buy with my debit card? What's the best way to spend my money?

All these questions are asked daily by billions of people.

People work hard to earn money. Maybe you met Ann, who was like a hamster on a wheel, tirelessly spinning through her days at work, only to be rewarded with a paycheck that would vanish right away. Or maybe you heard about Henry, the eternal money-making struggler who tried it all—from selling pants for parrots to creating a YouTube channel on underwater cooking?

Ann was exhausted because all her efforts were insufficient. Henry was disappointed because all his efforts left his pocket perpetually empty.

Perhaps these stories are not about Ann or Henry, but about you and me?

Farmers in Judea also toiled hard to earn their daily bread, and very often they experienced hunger and a lack of money. Very often, their efforts were insufficient.

What should we do? Should we stop working? No. But we should learn at least one lesson.

Yeshua says,

“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” John 6:27

It is unlikely that we should quit our jobs and wait for manna. I will dare to say that Yeshua here highlights the fact that humans tend to spend all their time trying to achieve financial stability. However, there is something bigger than that. The disciples should work for eternal bread.

People who were listening to Yeshua inquired,

“Therefore they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?’” John 6:28

They got a profound and, at the same time, simple answer.

“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” John 6:29

Following Yeshua requires diligent effort and hard work co-laboring with God rather than focusing all our days on labors merely securing mammon.

Believing "in Him whom He has sent" means devoting a great deal of time to Bible reading and prayer.

True faith requires active participation, great energy, and enthusiasm in co-laboring with God in whatever way you may be called, rather than passive observation.

 

Daniel Gordan