The Bread

UV 2252/10000 The Bread

Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed
John 6 v 27

Jesus advices the people not to work for food that spoils but to work for food that endures to eternal life which He alone can give. It implies that all the techniques, solutions, methods of man are futile and ineffective in resolving life’s great issues of eternal death and eternal life. Even the manna provided by God to the Israelites during their journey to the promised land spoilt if kept overnight but the Bread of Life stays fresh forever. Jesus did not say that we should not work for our bread and butter or our livelihood but that it should not be the purpose of our existence. Jesus is the Eternal Bread sent by God for sustaining us eternally. The very act of believing this is accounted in God’s economy as labour. As we believe that He has been sent by God and that He is of God and is same as God, we too receive by faith the seal of approval that Jesus carries. Though we die physically, yet shall we live forever.

If believing in Jesus as the source of salvation is the Bread of eternal life, the water we drink is the Word. The Word answers every question of man, enables us to face every challenge of life, face every threat, overcome every difficulty. It becomes a wellspring or fountain of life from deep within our heart to satisfy our spiritual thirst. The bread or food and drink that the world provides is often contaminated and can be the source of disease and ill health. But, the Word in us is the source of spiritual as well as holistic health and blessing. We delight in consuming this spiritual bread and water. With the Bread of Life – Jesus in our hearts, we cease to be accursed beings and become blessed. We now have a higher purpose than to just keep body and soul together. Our perspective is transformed from the temporal to the eternal.

Belief in Jesus transforms us from working for ourselves and for our families to being the servants of the Lord. He pays or rewards us for our faith and our every effort with the wages of eternal life. Belief in Jesus and the Word applied in our lives becomes the source of nine spiritual rivers that flow out of our hearts - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control. It is through these nine streams flowing always from our hearts and minds that we are not only satisfied spiritually or blessed but we become a source of blessing and encouragement for others. In all that we speak and do, we sow the seed of the Bread of Eternal Life in other human beings.

Prateep V Philip