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March 9, 2010Israel: Day 2
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Among the biblical events that took place in Capernaum was Jesus’ declaration that “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).
This statement was shocking to those who heard it because they interpreted his words in terms of physical food. The crowd had come to Jesus for more “miracle food,” having just seen him multiply five loaves and two fish that he had just multiplied to feed thousands.
Jesus’ statement is shocking in our context as well, because we are surrounded by so many competing goods and distractions that promise to make us happy. We may go through life without even feeling—let alone identifying—our spiritual hunger.
What Jesus promised was not food to temporarily satiate our physical hunger. Instead, he contrasted the “bread of life” with the manna God had provided his people in the wilderness. This kind of bread, Jesus himself, is spiritual sustenance, which gives true, everlasting life to those who partake of it. Only Jesus can satisfy our soul’s hunger.
I find that life presents a daily struggle to seek the bread of life and to sustain myself with what Jesus offers in the face of so many distractions and so many promises of happiness and fulfillment. In fact, most days I fail completely. I unintentionally try to fill my life with so many other things so that I don’t feel my spiritual hunger.
What Jesus gives us is so basic—bread. He satisfies our hunger and thirst. Rather than the “empty spiritual calories” the world offers, this is what we need.
“I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:48-51).
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