Jesus, the Bread of Life
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." John 6:26, 27, NIV.
The Passover approached. Family units made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem through Galilee. Jesus and His disciples hoped to find some rest, but the pilgrims, hearing that Jesus was near, sought Him out. In His compassion Jesus responded to their requests for healing and taught them the way of salvation.
All day long the multitude was so focused upon Jesus' message and activities that they forgot their own physical need for food. Jesus too suffered fatigue and hunger as evening approached. The disciples worried about obtaining enough food to feed the thousands of people.
Jesus, in His wisdom, had a plan to meet their needs. Using a boy's lunch consisting of five barley loaves and two fish, He provided enough food to feed the 5,000 there. His miracle graphically illustrates His loving concern for our welfare and His desire to save us.
Many of His listeners there had warped appetites, just as many of us have today. Jesus leads us to an understanding of a simpler way of eating, as illustrated in the meal served that evening. "Selfishness and the indulgence of unnatural taste have brought sin and misery into the world, from excess on the one hand, and from want on the other" (The Desire of Ages, p. 367)
Could you be suffering from the food selections you make to gratify a distorted appetite? Overweight and disease often result from them.
If you would eat more simply, and then, instead of spending hours in the kitchen preparing a large variety of fancy, rich, high-calorie gourmet dishes, spend that time with Jesus, the true Bread of Life, I wonder what a difference it would make in your spiritual, as well as your physical, well-being.
Jesus Christ shows us a way. By feeding the 5,000 there on the side of the mountain, He taught us to turn our thoughts away from what we will eat next, and toward Him as the source of our daily sustenance and the way to salvation.
Lord, may my thoughts be on obtaining my daily bread of life from You, and not on satisfying my perverted physical appetite.
The Passover approached. Family units made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem through Galilee. Jesus and His disciples hoped to find some rest, but the pilgrims, hearing that Jesus was near, sought Him out. In His compassion Jesus responded to their requests for healing and taught them the way of salvation.
All day long the multitude was so focused upon Jesus' message and activities that they forgot their own physical need for food. Jesus too suffered fatigue and hunger as evening approached. The disciples worried about obtaining enough food to feed the thousands of people.
Jesus, in His wisdom, had a plan to meet their needs. Using a boy's lunch consisting of five barley loaves and two fish, He provided enough food to feed the 5,000 there. His miracle graphically illustrates His loving concern for our welfare and His desire to save us.
Many of His listeners there had warped appetites, just as many of us have today. Jesus leads us to an understanding of a simpler way of eating, as illustrated in the meal served that evening. "Selfishness and the indulgence of unnatural taste have brought sin and misery into the world, from excess on the one hand, and from want on the other" (The Desire of Ages, p. 367)
Could you be suffering from the food selections you make to gratify a distorted appetite? Overweight and disease often result from them.
If you would eat more simply, and then, instead of spending hours in the kitchen preparing a large variety of fancy, rich, high-calorie gourmet dishes, spend that time with Jesus, the true Bread of Life, I wonder what a difference it would make in your spiritual, as well as your physical, well-being.
Jesus Christ shows us a way. By feeding the 5,000 there on the side of the mountain, He taught us to turn our thoughts away from what we will eat next, and toward Him as the source of our daily sustenance and the way to salvation.
Lord, may my thoughts be on obtaining my daily bread of life from You, and not on satisfying my perverted physical appetite.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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