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Always Give Us This Bread


               So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
         Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
                “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”
                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. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.  For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.  For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:31-40)
         
           In chapter four, the woman at the well said the same thing. She asked Jesus to give her the living water, so she wouldn’t have to go to the well again. These folks were asking for bread, so they would never be hungry. Both times, Jesus ends up telling them that He is what they seek, or what they should seek. The difference is that these folks didn’t believe Him. How much of the time am I like them? As I walk and pray, I frequently find myself wanting to hang out the “Knight in Shining Armor Wanted” sign. If only God would give me the strength of will I need to lose weight. If only God would give me the income I need to take care of Dad the way I’d like to (and at a comfortable standard for me, too.) If only God would make me be the sort of person I think I should be. If only God would make it so that I no longer needed Him! Oh, that would be so convenient.
          “…Always give us this bread.”
          To this, Jesus says, “Come to me….” How often is it easier to go to a grocery store? Oh the food doesn’t last very long. I just went to the grocery store on Thursday or Friday, and I had to go again today. I got next to nothing and it cost about what a week’s worth of groceries used to cost me, and then it included meat. But it satisfies the soul for a few minutes and it costs so much less than going to Him, believing Him, obeying Him, seeking my good in Him and in His Word.

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