I am the Bread of Life
In Part 1 of our mini-series ‘Give us today our daily bread’ we saw that we need both physical bread to nourish our bodies and spiritual bread to nourish our souls. The spiritual bread is the word of God that we read in the bible. We need to feed on the bible each day.
In Part 2 we begin to explore what Jesus means when he says that ‘I am the bread of life’.
John 6:35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
When we ‘feed’ on Jesus who is the Word that was made flesh, it somehow satisfies the hunger and thirst of our souls.
John 6:48 I am the bread of life. When we partake of Jesus by the reading the bible (God’s word) it brings life into our souls and bodies.
The zoe life described here is both physical and spiritual. All life (2222 /zōḗ), throughout the universe, is derived – i.e. it always comes from and is sustained by God's self-existent life. Jesus the bread of life sustains our physical and spiritual lives.
John 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
God sustains us physically and meets the less tangible needs of this life. More than that, He fulfils our spiritual needs. He is the bread that satisfies our spiritual hunger. He sustains our hearts. When we ask God for our daily bread, we are humbly acknowledging Him as the sole giver of all we need. We are living day by day, one step at a time. We are exercising simple faith in Him to provide just what we need, when we need it – for every area of life.
Natural nutritional value: Breads are rich in complex carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are an important part of our diet as they provide us with energy. Our bread contains various B vitamins, including Thiamine (B1), Niacin (B3), and Riboflavin (B2) which are essential for releasing energy from food. Bread also contains proteins, fibre, calcium, and iron.
Spiritual nutritional value: if you are what you eat, when we eat the bread of life (Jesus) he becomes part of us, his life, his character, his example, his teaching etc.
Jesus says we are becoming one with Him through our daily bread.
We become integrated (one) with Jesus when we eat his flesh and drink his blood (communion).
In summary as we feed on Jesus by reading the bible, our souls are nourished and we begin to grow and mature as Christians.
Amen
Prayer