Are you just in it for the "God Candy?"

" When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.  Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” John 6:25-27

Why do you have a relationship with Christ?  Is it because He gives you stuff?  

When you go to a really good youth conference, you leave and your heart is full of "warm and fuzzies."  The reassuring feeling that Christ IS real and He is in your heart.  Then, after a couple weeks, that feeling is gone, and so is your prayer time.  Why?  Because you just don't feel it.

This is a pretty sorry excuse.  Christ felt every drop of blood that drained from His body.  He felt every excruciating scourge of the whips.  He felt every nail that went into His hands and feet.  More importantly...He felt that for you.

Yet we tend to look for "the food that spoils"  - the warm 'n fuzzy 'God candy' that occurs when you feel really close to God.  The "food that endures to eternal life" we tend to avoid, since it does include the dry spells when you don't feel God is close to you.  It's not very appealing to think about times when it is just a struggle to even thank God anymore.

So, as summer conferences come and go, and your relationship with God waxes and wanes, remember that He doesn't move.  He stays constant and is always there for you.  

It doesn't come easy.  It takes a lot of work and effort to know, love and serve someone.  But it's worth it - eternity with Him in Heaven is a pretty good deal.  

God bless,

Chloe M.