the bread of life
Only Jesus satisfies the deepest hunger of our souls.John 6:35 | “Jesus replied, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’”Ahhh, bread. Just the thought of a loaf baking in the oven brings a wonderful memory. We can almost smell it! Bread can satisfy hunger, can easily be carried with you, can be freely shared, and provides nutrition for healthy growth. Sounds a lot like our Savior, Jesus, doesn’t it? He truly is the Bread of Life that we all need.
What a wonderful life we have, knowing Jesus and knowing that He will provide for our needs. As He did for His people in the desert when He provided daily bread (manna), He will do the same for us today. Not only can we count on Him for our daily physical care, but even more importantly, we can count on Him for our daily provision of His love, guidance, and peace. When the Israelites were in the desert for so many years, God provided manna from heaven every new morning. They did not need to put any away for the next day, as it would appear the following day without them doing anything. Every day. Without fail. God provided. They could trust Him and not worry. God has been teaching me to do the same. I’m learning to not worry about tomorrow but to trust that God has a perfect plan and will give me what I need tomorrow, even if I can’t see the plan. He wants me to live today and leave tomorrow in His hands. We can trust Him.
In this wonderful time of year, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, we can allow stress to overwhelm us and worry about tomorrow to take away the joy of today. Let’s seek God in prayer and His Word and learn to trust Him with our tomorrows. Enjoy each moment of today. And share His love and light with those whom He brings across our path.
As I thought about this scripture about bread, a memory came to mind. In the late 80s, a phenomenon occurred across America. Friendship Bread became a “thing” and went “viral,” as the kids would say today. You can Google Amish Friendship Bread for the details and recipe. The idea was that you would make a starter kit for a loaf of bread. Over several days, you would work with that starter bag. Then, after about 10 days, you would divide the original dough into four bags and give three away to friends. They would then do the same with their starter bag, and it went on and on and on. This made me think that our witness for Jesus should be the same. We need to share it with others so that they can share it, and then that person can share it. And it will go on and on and on. It could “go viral.” We need to share the Bread of Life that is Jesus. Let’s do that at every opportunity over this Advent season. Let’s share His hope, joy, peace, and love with everyone we encounter.
