S105P4 – Good food: the Lord our bread and drink

John 6:32-35

Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”

She was new in town and had to learn her way around.  Part of making a big move to a new place is figuring out how and where you will complete the daily chores of life.  There were two grocery stores on Main Street, but she did not know which would suit her better.  What she could see was that one of the stores was much busier than the other.  She decided to have her first shopping trip there, and she learned from the other locals in the store the reason why they preferred that place.  The busy store had the better prices.  When she got home, she was shocked to find the reason for those low prices.  Every box or bag or juice carton she bought was filled not with choice product but with a cheap imitation, and she would find herself still hungry and thirsty even after consuming those second-rate goods.

Communion rests on the precept that Jesus Christ is our satisfactory food and drink.  When it comes to spiritual nourishment, He checks all the boxes.  There is nothing lacking when our spiritual diet is comprised of all we can receive from the Lord.  What we see in the world outside of him is a litany of cheap imitations that do not satisfy.  Some people will chase those cheap imitations because they cost so much less and seem like a bargain.  To choose Christ as your nourishment comes at a much higher price.  It requires the sacrifice of a life, but He is well worth the price.  We give him everything we have in exchange for everything He has, and that is an incredibly unfair trade.  We make out like bandits, and we are never left hungry or thirsty.  He is good food because He is complete and everlasting.

The sad truth is that those who decide to preserve their lives and to live off the cheap imitations will still lose their lives in the end.  It is just a matter of timing.  We give our lives to him now in exchange for what we never could have earned or deserved, or we hold on to the crumbs we think we have only to have life taken away from us anyway.  Many will gorge themselves on those empty spiritual calories and become fat with sin until it completely overcomes them.  Those of us who are spiritually healthy must have the compassion to pray for them to realize the error of their ways.  Let us pray and act in a way that feeds these hungry people well, that wakes them up to their true hunger and thirst.  Father, place us in positions of influence and power that we would begin to help nourish people with all the Lord has to offer.