The Bread of God

John 6:1-14, 25-35

            How many meals a week do you eat?  Do you get your “three squares” a day?  That would be twenty-one meals a week.  We all know that because of crazy schedules, sometimes we miss a meal or just grab something “on the go.”  Perhaps we should reword the question: How many times a week do you eat?  Most of us (all?) also eat snacks (nutritious or not) during the day and do some snacking in the evening.  Without stretching it too much, we may be eating something 35 to 40 times a week!  That’s a lot of eating.  But we know that food (especially nutritious food) is essential to maintain good health and provide energy to work, recreate, and live life.

            Jesus used the idea of food and applied it to the spiritual person.  Following His feeding of the 5000, He admonished the crowd who had followed Him for simply wanting food for the body.  He told them to work “for the food which endures to eternal life.”  In the exchange which followed, there was discussion about the manna which Israel ate in the wilderness.  Jesus reminded His listeners that the manna had come from His Father, and that “the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”  He then spoke those beautiful words: “I am the bread of life.”

            Now let’s ask this question.  If we eat thirty plus times a week to feed our bodies, how many times a week do we need to feed on the Bread of Life to maintain a healthy spiritual person?  How many times a week do we need to feed on the Word and seek the Lord in prayer to receive the knowledge, strength and guidance to live the Christian life?

            Perhaps the numbers comparison is not legitimate, but Jesus told His hearers to “work...for the food which endures to eternal life.”  This implies time, energy and effort.  It could be that Satan has deceived us (again) into thinking that one or two helpings on Sunday of the Bread of Life is enough to get us through the week.  Actually, that’s probably true, but God wants us to do more than just “get through the week.”  He wants us to grow and become forces for good in this evil world.  Are you getting enough of the Bread of God?

                                                            ><>  Jeff