Test... Withdraw
from certain situations...
1 After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee [of Tiberias].[b] 2 A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish feast of Passover was near. 5 [c]When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” 6 [d]He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages[e] worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little [bit].” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves[f] and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass[g] in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. 12 When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” 13 So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets[h] with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. 14 When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet,[i] the one who is to come into the world.” 15 Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.-John6:1-15
It is indeed true
that God sometimes would deliberately put us to the test. But it is
not for us to suffer, not for us to fail, not for us to be pained.
Rather, to test our virtues. And should we fail or give a wrong
answer, God will work out something for our betterment. Remember, a
gold will never be a work of beauty and art without exposing it to
high degrees of fire. In the gospel, Jesus is so close to becoming a
king but He faced the situation by withdrawing and being by Himself
alone in the mountain. How will it be for us? What are we going to do
if instant fame, money and power are thrust to us in the next hour?
Can we walk away from it? Yes, we can! Jesus, the first of Mankind,
did it. But again, fame, money and power are not evil in itself. How
we deal with it will define its effect in our lives. "But seek
first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness,[a] and all these
things will be given you besides.-Matthew6:33"
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