“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again” (John 6:35 CSB).
Imagine your holiday table. In but a few days it will all be set with the finest wares and an array of traditional delicacies and fare. It’s all gift! Everything you see before you are gifts from God.
Now, in your imagination, think back to tables of the past. There were those feasting tables set in the 4th century with the first observances of Christmas during the reign of Constantine. Now think even further back still, to the Passover table of our Lord’s last supper. Quite likely, there is something common on all those tables, regardless of era. It’s bread!
This time of year grocery bills soar. We might ask ourselves the question Isaiah posed, “Why do you spend on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:2).
But Jesus, born to us, is the Living Bread from Heaven! He is Living, because He is the Bread Who gives life. Eternal life!
The self-proclamation by Jesus, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35) came on the heels of His miraculous feeding of the 5,000. The people who witnessed this miracle correlated it to that of the manna provided to nourish the freed captives enroute to the promised land (John 6:30-31). Jesus corrected their thinking by saying, “Truly I tell you, Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:32-33). Where manna was the food God provided for a time, Jesus is the True Bread for eternal life.
Jesus further assured, “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again” (John 6:35). He is God’s provision for sustenance and life. He is the satisfaction to our soul’s deepest hunger.
Break bread with Jesus, as you enjoy your holiday meal with your family. But remember, that feast is but one meal in time. Give thanks that Jesus provides a fresh supply of true food all day, every day.
YHWH, our Jehovah Jireh, we have tasted and we have seen the goodness of our Lord (Psalm 34:8). We give thanks to the Lord for His faithful love and His wondrous works for all humanity. For He has satisfied the thirsty and filled the hungry with good things (Psalm 107:8-9). May we feast upon Him by abiding in Him all our days.
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