Day 154: Bread of Life

“...I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

“For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”

Psalm 107:9

If you know me at all, I LOVE to eat. In fact, I used to pride myself on being able to eat more than the guys I dated. I don't know why that amused me...probably because it was at a time when I could work it all off playing sports...now, not so much ;)

But, as with eating and finding satisfaction in good food (which is so easy to do when you're from Hawaii, and everything is delicious), I often wonder how literally that is happening in America. My roommate yesterday commented on how she was disturbed about how many obese people she saw in a restaurant. It wasn't that she thought anything was wrong with these people, but that something was definitely wrong in the choices they were making.

I draw this parallel because, as an enjoyer of food myself, I see how easy it can be when we enjoy too much of one thing, or even when we fill ourselves with things like food because it is how we sometimes cope with things. There are always jokes about girls who have a bad day and eat a carton of ice-cream, or more about how we always “eat our feelings.” And, while it's funny to laugh at from time to time, it is steadily becoming true.

In this time of reliance on food, I look at these verses from the scriptures with a new lens. It's so obvious that Jesus is talking about himself as more than a loaf a bread, and really giving us insight into the fact that He is a sustainer of life, much like bread was so long ago in the historical context.

These days, we are so quick to fill ourselves with food, or drink, or friends, or relationships, to satisfy our desires, needs, wants, etc. These decisions we make lead to unhealthy eating, drinking, unwanted pregnancy, heartache, heartbreak, jealousy, destruction, etc.

When we fill ourselves to the brink with unhealthy habits, why do we sit there wondering how we got there in the first place?

Fill yourselves with the bread of life that is Jesus. Let Him be your greatest desire, and the one you go to in times of need.

Better than ice cream, a boyfriend/girlfriend, family...more permanent than the love you think you are feeling, or infatuation, or the control you want in your life.

He is infinitely more. He is sustainer. Seek to be satisfied only through Him.

In Christ,

Lilia