THE BREAD OF LIFE

Bread is usually a special gift from God. It's symbolic value in our faith walk is powerful. Apart from its nourishing nature, it is essential for daily life and frequently used as food in its entirety. Many characters in the Bible from the Old testament to the New, ate bread and prepared it for use in so many different ways and for diverse occasions. Today, instead of thinking from a natural standpoint or earthly perspective, we are going to find out the spiritual significance, as we examine the Scriptures below.

Reference: John 6:35 English Standard Version (ESV) 'They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always". Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."'

The Lord Jesus is telling us, "If you come to me, you'll be nourished." Jesus used the analogy of bread here to denote the idea of spiritual hunger (see Matthew 4:4). It also denotes the idea of quenching spiritual thirst (see John 4:13-14). Though believing in Jesus as Lord is the basic requirement for obtaining eternal life, it's not enough to believe in Jesus, we must keep feeding on Him as the bread of life so that the message of salvation will produce meaningful effects in our lives and deliver its unquantifiable blessings to us.

As you eat this bread, which is the Word of life, you'll flow with the very life that is in Christ. Everything we need to stay healthy spiritually and to lead an overcoming life flows from this bread. It is the bread of life that distinguishes us as members of His body. We are set apart from the rest of the world because we are sustained by this eternal bread: Jesus Christ. As Christians, we all partake of this one bread which is the bread of life (1 Corinthians 10:17). The Bible says in John 3:16 (NLT), 'For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.' This means that eternal life is found by receiving and by feeding on the bread, Jesus Christ.

What does this image of bread represent? Someone may ask. Matthew 4:4 says, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.' Jesus made this remarkable statement, after He had fasted in the desert and met Satan who tempted Him to turn stones into bread in order to relieve His hunger. However Jesus rejected his suggestion and pointed out that the bread of life is the Word of God. Jesus is that bread, whose trait is life. He is the Word of life, revealing God to man and teaching the eternal truths which are the life of the Spirit.

In the earlier verses (John 6:31-33), we can discover that the disciples of Jesus only knew about the manna, in form of bread, which their ancestors ate in the wilderness; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat'. But Jesus clarified that physical things such as bread symbolises spiritual truth. And the superiority of Christ to the manna is that while manna only satisfied bodily needs for a time, the bread of life satisfies our spiritual needs for ever. As you feed on the bread of life daily, you will experience the continual satisfaction in your spiritual needs.

Scripture Reading - Deuteronomy 8:3; 1 Corinthians 5:8; John 6:48,51; 1 Corinthians 11:24.

Guided Prayer: Dear Father, I thank you for planting in me a deep desire and hunger for the bread of life. Christ is my daily bread that flows in every bone of my body and every cell of my blood; He gives me satisfaction and fulfilment. By constant meditation, I yield myself to be saturated and influenced by His Word of life and I open my spirit to mingle with eternal truths. By feeding on the bread of life, I establish myself in the triumphant life, in all-round success, health, prosperity and joy. As I enjoy the sweet bread, I'm strengthened with all might from within by its power. Thank you for this wonderful blessing that empowers me to live a transcendent life in Christ, in Jesus' Name, Amen!