The Bread of Life

     Yesterday it was very cold and rainy -(ha! kind of like today was).  When I left work at about 5:30, I had to pick up a prescription at Wal Mart.  But I was anxious to get home, so that was all I wanted to do - run in, get my medicine and leave. I wanted to get to the warmth and the safety of my own home.  So I was kind of surprised when the clerk waitin on me in the Pharmacy said, "What?  This is all you're getting?  You're not going to dash over to the grocery section to buy bread?"  When I told her I was fine, thank you.  She said with a smile -"Are you sure?  EVERYBODY has been buying bread today."  I laughed and said, "I bet - but I just bought bread yesterday, so I think I am OK."  Then she checked me out.
    I am sure most of us can relate to the cashier's joke.  What happens around here when the weather starts looking ominous -- when people think the roads are going to freeze over and they will be stuck at home a few days?  They rush to the store to buy bread!  Bread is a staple in just about any home - it seems we can't get along without it.
      Of course, this all got me to thinking ..... Jesus said, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." (John 6:35)  See we can't along spiritually without the Bread of Life.  But if we lean on  Him - learn of His words --we will never hunger spiritually, for He (Jesus) makes sure we have all we need.  We can't get to God without the Bread of Life.  Just as we have to have bread (food) to live a healthy physical life, we have to have that Bread of Life to live a healthy spiritual life. 
     That may seem easy for us to understand today; but those who followed Jesus at that time did not seem to comprehend very well what He was saying.  This was a difficult time in Jesus' ministry.  If you read the rest of this chapter - you will see that many of his disciples left Him that day.  All the talk of Bread - they couldn't understand it.  They did not realize that Jesus was trying to tell them that He was of God the Father.  He was speaking in figurative terms -- in verse 58 - Christ said that "he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever."
     Many of His disciples didn't get it then and honestly, there are alot of people out in the world who still don't get it today.  Jesus was telling them that He had been sent from Heaven --that He was their Savior--just as the manna that God sent down for the wandering Israelites saved them.  He was trying to tell them if they followed Him -- if they would only partake of His commandments - of His way of life --- they would be blessed - sustained -- saved from a death of spiritual starvation.  Jesus never meant that He wanted those men to literally eat of his flesh.  Yet, many followers turned from Jesus that day.  No doubt He was very discouraged.
        Verse 67 reads --"Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?" And in the next verse we have one of the most beautiful confessions of Christ recorded.  "Then Simon Peter, answered Him, Lord to whom shall we go? thou hast the word of eternal life.  And we believe and are sure that thou art Christ, the Son of the living God."  (v. 68-69)  What a beautiful passage of scripture!
     Are you sure Christ is the Son of Living God?  Do you understand that to get to the Father, it has to be through the Son?  Do you realize that if you long for Him - hunger for His love --seek to do His will - to follow His commandments -- that you will be fed?  If you turn to Him -- He will be there for you.  He will always feed you -- save you -- give you what you need to keep going. 
     Another thing though --we talked about the way we rush to the store for bread when we think things are going to be tough (weather wise).  Well, don't wait until you see a storm coming in your life and then go get enough Bread to help you get through.  Feed yourself often -- if you are already partaking of the eternal Bread of Life --if He lives in your heart and you are walking in the Way -- then you will be sustained through the storms of life.  HE will feed you in those moments of spiritual weakness.  Remember how He loves you and how He wants you to be with Him.  So feed on His word.  Understand who He is -- know and follow His commandments, all of them.  And claim His wonderful promises.

Christ above all things,
Robin