June 5

Bread of Life

            So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?  Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”  They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.  But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.”

John 6:30-40

          When God sent manna to the Israelites in the wilderness, they did not know what it was.  “Manna,” literally translates into, “What is it?”  Manna was God’s gift to the people, sustaining them and keeping them alive as they journeyed to the Promised Land.  It was also a tool to teach the Israelites about obedience as well.  The people were to only collect as much as they needed for one day.  If they gathered more than that amount, it would rot before they could prepare it.  Blessing and Obedience were tied together through the manna.

          Jesus calls himself the bread of life…God’s manna to the world.  It is He that gives us life and hope and sustains us throughout the days.  It is Jesus who is God’s gift to the world to carry them through their wandering as they journey to the Promised Land.

          Notice how Jesus lays out His purpose.  It was not to heal people from their illnesses and suffering.  It was not to make people happy or rich or powerful.  It was not to teach love and tolerance and help everyone get along.  His purpose was to be a good steward of all those that God had entrusted to Him.  To make a way for God’s children to join their Heavenly Father in Eternity on the last day.  Jesus accomplished that by both dying for us and living for us.

          Jesus died so that our sins could be forgiven.  The penalty of death was paid and the grave lost every claim that it had on the children of God.  Thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus, we are free to come before a Holy God and be welcomed in as a beloved child.  Without that sacrifice for us, our sin…the ways that we have rejected God and hurt others would prevent us from being able to enter His presence.  Jesus’ death makes a way where there had only been separation.

          Jesus lived so that we could have an example of what following God looks like.  Scripture records what He did, what He said and how He was faithful so that we can imitate him.  The IDD world has a rating system that records how much assistance someone needs to complete a task.  The highest level is that someone can do a task independently.  Below that comes following verbal cues and having the task modeled for the person by their care provider.  Then comes hand-over-hand where the provider will actually move the person’s body to complete the task.  For example, the provider will put their hand over the person’s hand and they will both pick up the spoon together, move it to the bowl and then take the soup to the individual’s mouth.

          There are times in our walk of faith that we can be obedient on our own.  We have learned our lessons and grown and now consistently respond faithfully.  There are times where we need to be reminded and shown how to obey God by mentors or pastors or parents or faithful friends.  Then there are times where we are incapable of following on our own, crippled by our own sin and selfishness.  These are the times where God comes alongside us and puts his hand over our hand, his heart over our heart and does the action with us.  Our mind and heart begin to learn what faithfulness looks like because the Creator is guiding us through.

          Jesus came with the mission to not lose any…not a single one of those that had been entrusted to Him.  He will do whatever it takes, including hand over hand, to see us all come home.

             

A moment to reflect:

How do you need God to help you today?