In John 6 we read how Jesus used the miracles to show who he was, but the people viewed the miracles because of what they could get from them. In verse 26 he tells the people they sought him, ". . . not because they saw the miracles, but because they did eat of the loves and were filled." They wanted the things that miracles produced, they did not think of the one who produced the miracles. Jesus wants us to seek the one who does the miracles, not the things we get from the miracles. The people persist in this way, in verse 31 they say, "He [Moses] gave them bread from heaven to eat." They have given credit for the mana to Moses. Jesus corrects them right away saying that the Father gave them the mana. Jesus says the bread that comes from heaven and gives life to the world is what is important. They were thinking of their own physical benefits: the bread they ate and the healing they got.
We must be glad for the maker of the miracles, not only for the benefits, the "freebies", we get from the miracles. When the stormy waters are calmed (John 6:21) we must willingly receive Jesus into our boat being glad for the person who came to us, and not concerned so much with the walking on the water. We should think, "I am glad you came to my boat. I'm glad to have you here with me because I like you, you are pleasant to have around. I like to be with you. By the way, it was neat how you walked on the water".
Jesus did the miracles to convince people of truth. Some, however, saw only the benefits of the miracles to themselves, ignoring God and his part in their lives. How crass are we when we ignore what God does in our daily lives? How many times do we overlook God's involvement, not to speak of being thankless? Maybe we should keep a "God hunt" book by our bed and write in it every night.
