“The Bread of Life One of the most difficult things for us to understand, regarding our personal needs, is how we get them freely and constantly satisfied on a daily basis. The story of Jesus feeding the multitude in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John reveals some astonishing insight into our own struggle to trust Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. While we may trust Him as our physical savior (and truly He is), relying upon Him to provide for our physical needs; and we certainly trust Him as our spiritual Savior, relying on Him to save us from hell; we find it difficult to trust Him daily as our personal Savior. The miracle that Jesus performed in feeding five thousand men and their families from one small boy’s lunch was meant to demonstrate in the physical realm what He is willing and able to do in the personal realm. The multitude, however, missed the point and returned again the second day looking for another free lunch. Is Jesus just another free lunch for you? Do you come to Jesus as someone to give you material blessings? Or, do you come to Jesus for Himself? Do you come to Him for Who He is? Do you come to Him personally; trusting that in your relationship with Him your personal needs will be satisfied? It was in this context that Jesus stated that He is the Bread of Life and, therefore, the only One that can truly meet all our needs. The multitude had followed Him to receive another meal. When Jesus exposed their true motivation for following Him they became religious and sought to justify their preoccupation with their own physical needs by reminding Him that God fed Israel daily in the wilderness with manna. In referring to Himself as the “Bread of Life,” Jesus was saying only by receiving Him personally could they truly experience real life. He told them their ancestors who ate manna died, but those who eat this bread, the “Bread of Life” will never die (John 6:49-54). While engaged in a heated discussion, Jesus made a statement that would shock them into understanding what He was really saying. He said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. “Who so eats My flesh and drinks My blood hath eternal life and I will raise Him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in Me and I in him.” (John 6:53-54 - kjv) By this, He meant only He could satisfy the hunger and thirst in their souls for personal worth. Only by becoming one with Jesus would they experience the personal security and significance they needed every day. Using a metaphor, in reference to eating His flesh and drinking His blood (apparent cannibalism), would certainly eliminate all who continued to think in physical terms only. Those who would eat and drink only of what this world offers for security and significance would never understand. However, for those who looked for more than just another free lunch (those who saw the obvious metaphor He was using)—these words offer tremendous hope by becoming one with Jesus. Whoever believes on Him (i.e. eats His flesh and drinks His blood —consumes Him —completely identifies with Him) will enter into such a vital union with Christ that whatever is true of Jesus is true of them as well. The personal significance of such a statement, as understood in our union with Christ, is this: we are just as worthy as He is; we are just as secure as Jesus, Himself. To accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior means we chose to believe we have become one with Him; we chose to believe we are secure in His love and significant in His plan. It is trusting in our union with Christ that gives us a real sense of worth as a person and liberates us to realize our true potential in Christ to love others. It is only then, when our personal needs are met, that our spiritual need to love others can be met.” Quote taken from “The Alpha Series: by Pastor John Glenn alphaministries.org
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 14:29:03 +0000
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