Proof is a powerful thing and yet it’s often fleeting. We spend a lot of time looking for proof. Proof for our argument and against the arguments of others. Proof that what we think or believe is right and proof that what others think and believe is wrong. We look for proof that validates our experience while, if we are honest, we are also looking for proof that will invalidate the experience of another. We think that once we’ve seen the proof all our doubts will be assuaged, we also believe that once we’ve shown others our proof they will be forced to agree with us. Proof is a powerful thing but rarely does our idea of proof unite us, it usually opens our divides even wider. That’s because our search for proof is not often objective, it is usually a search for facts that solidify what we have already decided to believe. In our text today Jesus is talking to a group of people who have made up their minds and are now just looking for proof. They listened to Him teach and they had eaten from His miraculously multiplied meal, they were ready to make Him their king, the problem was, they were not prepared to submit to His kingdom. They were looking for proof that He was what they wanted Him to be, that He could perpetually meet their needs, that He was ready to lead them where they wanted to go. They were looking for a king that they would elect rather than one that they would surrender to. When they found Jesus in the synagogue at Capernaum He told them bluntly, “you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” How much of our seeking of God is tied to what we have received or what we believe He’s promised rather than who we have seen Him to be? How often do we seek God for His holiness rather than His provision, His meekness rather than His healing power, His perfection rather than His anointing? Jesus was saying, “You don’t know who I am, but you are excited about what I can do.” Today we begin to see how Jesus leads us past proof and into belief, how He is willing to leave some questions unanswered to create an opportunity for faith that is defined by surrender, how seeing and believing who He is, is far more valuable than knowing what He will do and how to get Him to do what we want. I pray today that we will start to move from finding proof to choosing belief.