Bread of Life

Scripture: John 6:35-40  (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. 37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:35–40 NLT)

I am the Bread of Life. I am the Living Water. Jesus uses these two themes often in John’s Gospel. He talked about Living Water with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well. After feeding the five thousand, he talked to them about the Bread of Life. These two metaphors clearly picture for us the importance of nourishing our souls so that we not only have healthy bodies, but also healthy, growing, flourishing souls. If we went out to a fine restaurant and enjoyed a tasty, nourishing meal once a week, but didn’t have a plan and practice for preparing meals at home on the other six days of the week, we wouldn’t be very healthy! In fact, we’d soon become very unhealthy!

The same thing applies to our souls. We can “go to church” once a week, enjoy rich, meaningful worship, fellowship with our friends, give generously to God’s work, and be challenged and inspired by a well-prepared, well-presented, “tasty” message and it will be as nourishing to our souls as the excellent meal at the restaurant was for our bodies. But we must have a plan and practice for feeding our souls the other six days of the week: Daily quiet time; Devotional reading of Scripture; Journaling key thoughts from our meditation; Meeting with other believers during the week; Engaging in conversations with God and stimulating conversations with our friends and family. Otherwise, our souls will not prosper and flourish.

Without this we may survive, but we will not thrive! If you’re reading this, you’re on the right track! Keep it going. Encourage others to share “soul food” with you. Eternal life begins now. Let’s keep it growing!

Prayer:

Father, Thank you for weekly feasts for our souls, and thank you for daily Bread of Life and Living Water! Help us put in place the plan and practice that helps us to grow and prosper and flourish in our souls. For the Kingdom’s sake!