Most of us long for miracles.  And Jesus’ perfect life, death on sinners’ behalf as the fulfillment of Passover, and His physical resurrection prove that He is willing and able to meet our greatest needs:  complete forgiveness and a new heart to follow Him as our living King.  But even in the Bible, most of the journey with Jesus is lived in the moments between miracles.  In this 50-day series, we’ll consider some of those moments leading up to the next great miracle in the New Testament:  the fulfillment of Pentecost and the incredible growth of the Church.

The Lord doesn’t need anything from us, but He involves us even partnering with us.  The Apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 1:5-9 that we are unworthy but still actual participants in the growth of God’s people.  That’s incredible and so much better.  Consider some of what we see in John 21:10.

As we’ve noted in recent devotionals of this series, the disciples had been fishing all night long but were blessed not by their skill and diligence but by their faith and obedience to Jesus’ call the next morning to simply “Cast your net on the right side of the boat.”  And as soon as they haul in their miraculous catch, He calls them not only to come eat but to bring part of their blessing for the meal.

Notice that the Lord didn’t need the fish.  By the time they got to shore, Jesus had a fire, bread, and cooked fish waiting on them.  He is the Son of God.  Colossians 1:16-17 reminds us that “For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”  He does not need us.

Yet He calls us to contribute, even the ridiculously unnecessarily act of serving Him.  It’s part of the same picture we see in the fragrant, freewill offerings in Leviticus:  giving to God, not because He needs anything but because He is love.  And love both gives and receives with thanks.

The Lord Jesus privileges us to serve Him as a parent privileges their pre-schooler to serve them pretend tea, or tell the parent a story, or “help” the parent carry groceries in from the car.  We could do all those things better ourselves, but our children would miss their joy of serving someone they love.

May we serve the Lord today simply for the joy of living in what is most basic to His image:  love.

I hope today’s thought and others in this series will be helpful to you as you journey with Jesus in the moments between miracles.

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