Bread and Water

 

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.


Legend has it that when Marie-Antoinette, the Queen consort of Louis XVI of France, was told that the people had no bread to eat, said, “Let them eat cake.” Well, if the story is to be believed, her sarcasm cost her dearly, because it wasn’t like she was giving them cake to eat. Jesus, however, IS promising us something greater and grander than bread, and longer lasting.


Many years ago, the prophet Isaiah (speaking for God) once said: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come and eat!  Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare” (Isaiah 55:1-2).


The richest of fare. Cake? Not quite. God is speaking of spiritual food. Does this mean we don’t need bread and water? Of course we do, but that should not be our focus. God will provide bread and water. Listen to Jesus: “Do not worry,” he says. “Do not ask, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.


That’s what we should hunger and thirst for. His kingdom and righteousness. When giving his sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). That’s what we need. Have you ever thought about how empty we are - how we keep trying to fill ourselves with the things of this world (largely sinful) - and how instead of feeling full, we feel emptier than ever before. That’s because only righteousness can fill us.


The prophet Jeremiah (speaking for God) said, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jeremiah 2:13). Nothing the world offers can fill us. Only what Jesus offers us can. 


Taste and see that the Lord is good.

 


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