Bread of Life

I've recently been given the privilege of writing for our church's devotional! Here is my contribution on John 6: 

Read: John 6

Reflect:

I have a confession. I am a carbohydrate junkie. My go-to comfort foods are pasta and bread. There is nothing like a slice of fresh baked bread slathered with butter, or ribbon noodles tossed in a velvety, creamy sauce. It can be so satisfying to mop up that leftover sauce with a nice hunk of crusty bread. But as satisfying as that is in the moment, the flavors fade. Very quickly after that last bite, I start to get hungry again. My favorite comfort food are not ultimately satisfying. Nothing on this earth is. The good news is that Jesus is.

John 6:35, Jesus tells the group that has been following him that He is the Bread of Life. He says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst”. We are constantly bombarded by messages that promise satisfaction: “Buy this car, take this trip, get this job and you’ll be satisfied!” I don’t know about you, but there have been times in my life that I’ve bought into those claims. The thing is, when I’ve bought that new car, taken that trip, or gotten that job, any satisfaction I found in it quickly faded.

In this passage, we see a large group of people gather to hear from Jesus, he feeds them in a miraculous way, then leaves them, and then they gather to hear from him again. In this conversation in verses 22-59, Jesus tells the people that the signs they were looking for- like the manna from heaven that their forefathers ate- would not satisfy them either. Even the good gifts God gives are not fully satisfying. Only He is. In verses 54-56 Jesus says, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him”. When we “feed on his flesh and drink his blood”—that is, believe and trust Jesus as our Savior and have a relationship with him, he abides in us. We have this hope in Jesus: that he is our ultimate satisfaction. He alone sustains, remains constant, and satisfies.

Apply:

            If you have a relationship with Jesus, you can trust that he will sustain you. In those moments when you’re tempted to look to other things for your satisfaction, ask God to show you how He alone is your satisfaction.