Eat Some Really Good Bread

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Have you ever stopped in the bread aisle of the grocery store and really looked at all the choices available? There are rye breads, wheat breads, white breads, sourdough breads, pumpernickel breads, gluten and non-gluten breads, breads with whole grains, nine grains, seven grains, sesame seed breads, light breads, fat-free breads, reduced fat breads, French and Italian breads, sliced breads, whole loaf breads, mixed flour breads, bagel breads, muffin breads ... in some grocery stores, well over 100 types to choose from, not to mention particular brands. It's a bit overwhelming if you don't know exactly what you're hungry for.

Bread has often been referred to as the "staff of life." In modern jargon, we'd call that "life-support" food, because, even if every other food is missing, you can subsist on bread, just because of the basic ingredients that are in it.

In the Bible, Jesus refers to Himself as the Bread of Life ... in other words, your life support. He does that in the Gospel of John, chapter 6. Just a day before He makes this statement, He had miraculously fed 5,000 men, along with women and children, with five loaves of bread and two small fish. Now, people are running to Him, wanting more miracles and reminding Him of Moses and the manna -- the bread from heaven -- that the nation of Israel had eaten for 40 years when they were wandering in the desert awaiting God's timing to enter the land He had promised them.

Responding to their request, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, it's not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it's my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

When the people replied, "... from now on give us this bread," Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

Using their analogy, Jesus was telling them that just as God had supplied temporary life support for the Jewish people for 40 years, God had now supplied His own Son as a permanent life support and life source for people. He was also equating Himself with God, the Creator and Sustainer of Life.

In making those statements, Jesus doesn't mean that when you come to Him, you'll never experience physical hunger again. He's referring to an end to that hunger God has placed inside every man to know his Creator, the reason he was created and the hunger to be intimately known, accepted as He is and loved as well.

That craving to know and be known, to understand our purpose and have the capacity to fulfill it is God-given, because it takes us back to the Garden of Eden, when man and God walked together in the cool of the day, enjoying creation and discussing God's plan and man's part in it.

The Bible says each of us is created to know God and to do specific good works which God had in mind for us to accomplish from before the beginning of the world. He makes and equips each of us uniquely to partner with Him in His work. And He longs for us to get to know Him and join Him in the great adventure and journey in life.

As we grow and mature, we each begin to hunger for this even if we're not sure what exactly we're hungering for ... we just feel an emptiness, a need to know the point of our existence. And no matter how much we find things in our world to try and fill that emptiness ... take that hunger away ... nothing really fills the bill long term. We fill up for a little while, but then we get hungry again.

Nothing works ... except Jesus. Because He's God, He knows why He created each one of us. Because He's the bread of life, He knows exactly what your craving is, what my craving is, and He's the life support we need to satisfy the hunger.

There's no need for stomach growling or, more accurately, a hungry heart, any longer. Jesus, the Bread of Life, wants to fill you up so you'll never be hungry again. He wants to walk with you each day, discussing the Kingdom of God here on earth and the part you play in His plans. So, quit snacking on all those empty calories which are going to leave you hungry again. Feast on Jesus. He'll satisfy those cravings once and for all.

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