And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?" The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" Then they went out of the city and came to Him. In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors." John 4:27-38 NKJV
Have you ever gone without food for a period of time? I bet it was only for a couple of weeks at the most. Some of you could not go that long without chocolate. Or perhaps you can't make it through the day without a cup of coffee. None of us can do without food, water, or air. And all of us have something that would make life not worth living if we had to give it up.
For Jesus that was doing the will of God. He came to accomplish all he was sent here to do, what his Father wanted Him to do. That was what He put on the same level with life-sustaining food. If he couldn't do the will of the Father, He would just as soon die. In fact he said as much in garden. "Not my will but yours be done. I'll die if that's what you want."
How important is the will of God for you? Are you praying "give us this day our daily bread" but ignoring "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"? Jesus said seek the latter and the former would be there as well. (
Matthew 6:25-34) Nothing, including life itself, is more important than His will.
Chuck Livermore's knowledge of the word is the result of a lifetime of study and reading. He is part of Galilee South Community Church, a multi-ethnic congregation in South Denver. He attended Wayland Baptist University and has participated in world evangelism through research of unreached peoples.
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