Jesus is the Bread of Life

35Then Jesus declared, "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. 36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:35-40)

Why did Jesus call himself the bread of life? This is an interesting portrait of Jesus, since bread is a substance known and used by every society on the face of the earth. From the American who goes the store to buy his bread to the person who cooks his daily ration of bread on a stone beside his fire, bread is consumed by people everywhere. By the same token, most people enjoy their bread. While some like meat and others don't, or some like greens and others don't, most people like bread. Bread is one of the few foods that can be tolerated by most digestive systems. Also, bread has a satisfying quality that few other food products have. Anyway you slice it, bread is good and it is a food that most people need, use and enjoy.
When all this is taken together, it becomes clear why Jesus is portrayed as The Bread Of Life. Jesus is our heavenly bread and has the power to save, secure and satisfy every person who comes to him by faith. Jesus is the only hope for the world. He is what the soul of man needs before it can experience eternal life. Just as bread sustains our bodies, Jesus sustains our souls and gives us life.
Jesus knows our most basic needs and meets them. Bread must be eaten daily. Remember from the Lord’s Prayer; “Give us today our daily bread.” To grow in faith and relationship with Jesus Christ and one another. We need to seek and encounter Jesus 24-7 7 days a week. Bread produces growth. We cannot grow without eating what is healthy such as bread and we cannot grow spiritually without having Jesus in our life. Jesus is the Bread of Life for He is essential to our daily life, health and strength.
Jesus tells us to go directly to the source of all life, to go straight to God in order to find life. Jesus tells us not to look to earthly things for our satisfaction, for only God truly will satisfy us. Jesus challenges us to think about what we really need and what we think that we really need.
In a very real way, we are to become what we eat, to become more like Jesus. Jesus must become as real to us as our need to eat and to drink. Jesus is our gift from God, the Bread of Life.

Peace and love,

Sue

"Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me". (Luke 9:23)