I am the bread of life. -John 6:48 (NRSVCE)
Our world today is starving for satisfaction. Everyone is searching for something to fill the empty ache that will never quite go away. Except, no matter how many worldly pleasures we try to fill it with, no matter how many times we think we’ve solved the problem, the hole always returns.
And when someone tries to tell us God is the only true solution, we only dismiss the idea. Many times, like the ancient Israelites, we trusted God in the past to free us from our slavery to a thousand addictions, and we only ended up in the desert. We want to return to Egypt, because at least we had food…even though the miseries of slavery came with it.
The problem is, like the Israelites, we can become so busy complaining about the deserts and tribulations of the world that we don’t notice the food God is offering us. We’re blessed beyond the people of history, because the food He offers us today isn’t temporary like the manna He gave the Israelites. The empty hole doesn’t return as fast as it’s filled.
Jesus gave us a new Bread from Heaven—the Bread of Life, which is Himself…body, blood, soul, and divinity. This Bread of Life is the Medicine of Immortality, within which we live forever. The empty ache will be filled for all eternity in the Eucharist.
So, while we have trials now, the Bread of Life gives us hope for Heaven—eternal satisfaction beyond anything the world has to offer.
© Isabelle Wood 2024
Photo copyright Canva
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