Don’t forget to leave a like and a comment at the bottom of the blog! This helps extend the vibe of Christ to more people!

John 6:35

NASB	NLT	VOICE
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty.	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.	35 I am the bread that gives life. If you come to My table and eat, you will never go hungry, Believe in Me, and you will never go thirsty.

The Source of Bread

Jesus is speaking to the crowd that followed Him after feeding 5,000 families. (This equated to almost 20,000 people) They were asking for more physical bread, but Jesus was ready to lead them towards the path of spiritual sustenance. Jesus calls himself the bread of life, as part of His famous “I am…” statements. Hearing “I am…” would have connected to John’s audience as bread connected back to their culture. Bread represented sustenance and life. In the Old Testament, God provided manna to the Israelites in the wilderness. Manna was a bread-like substance that gave them the physical nourishment and necessities needed to survive the desert. In the New Testament, God gave them Jesus himself, moving away from the satisfaction of physical bread that is only temporary and moving towards an eternal satisfaction. The promise never to hunger is not about the physical feeling of hunger. It’s spiritual fulfillment. Bread was the core to most diets at this time. Jesus offers himself to provide satisfaction to the deepest spiritual needs with have. This happens through our belief and relationship with Him. The promise to never thirst is similar. Jesus shows the completeness and sufficiency of the salvation of life that Jesus gives.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Check out the story of the Woman at the Well in John 4. What similarities and differences do you see here?

Come and Believe

The verbs “come” and “believe” are continuous actions from the original Greek. Our relationship with Christ is centered on constant, daily acts of faith. When we take all parts of our daily life and keep Christ at the center of it, we start to find satisfaction and peace in our daily life. All the things that we thirst after and hunger for in this world are satisfied through Christ. We hunger for things that bring us happiness, often splurging for the latest material goods of this world. People will take out loans to get an expensive house or car, and even to get the latest iPhone. People take our material items and use it as a sign of status, to show like they “connect” with others. They don’t worry about the debt that’s accrued or whether or not they truly “need” it. We often thirst for attention. We create a narrative online that shows our life all positive and perfect all the time, instead of showing that we are truly human. We are flawed. We are imperfect. We are messed up. Yet, showing this to others is a sign of weakness. With Christ, our hunger is satisfied through contentment. Christ shows us how to live happy with what we have currently, achieving what we need to be satisfied in this world, and giving of our excess to those around us. Our thirst is satisfied through our imperfection. We need to acknowledge that we are not perfect and are only made perfect through Christ. Christ helps us to accept that we will mess up, but we don’t have to stay there. We are loved, forgiven, and accepted as we are through Christ. We don’t have fake an appearance to Christ, but we submit our hearts to God and allow His transformational work to do its thing inside and out.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: To come and believe is a constant daily action. What can you do everything to strengthen your relationship with Christ.

PRAY Action

Praise God for the relationship we have been gifted through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Read Matthew 5:6

Ask God for the satisfaction of hunger and thirst through the bread and water of life. Show us God how we can find this source of bread and water in Christ, and not in the world.

You are made perfect through Christ. You can find satisfaction through Jesus. Stay strong. Don’t be tempted to the world’s desires. Stay strong in Christ.

Next slice of manna: Finding Guidance in Jesus’ Light || John 8:12 || Manna for the Mind #308