Non Perishable Food

Since you were a kid, you’ve heard all about Jesus being the bread of life.  But honestly, that’s an abstract statement that needs some kind of illustration or application.  Fortunately for us, Jesus provided the perfect illustration in John 6:1-14 – He, the bread of life, provided bread for 5,000 hungry Galileans.

Normally, when we think of the Bread of Life, we think of things that sustain us in our walks with Jesus.  And that’s pretty much right on target.  Unfortunately, though, we tend to limit the bread of life concept to things like Jesus’ words, the gifts He brought / brings to His people, or any other kind of physical thing that Jesus provides.  In reality, when Jesus provided food for the 5,000, He wasn’t pointing to the stuff He provided for the people, He was pointing to Himself as the real treasure – the bread of life.

• John 6:35 – I am the bread of life.
• John 6:41 – I am the bread which came down from heaven.
• John 6:48 – I am the bread of life.
• John 6:51 – I am the living bread which came down from heaven.

Get the picture?  He was showing that great crowd that He – not His stuff – was the bread of life.  It wasn’t really what Jesus provided that met the needs of the people, it was Him.

• We see it in the feeding of the 5,000.  Without Him, there would have been no lunch for those folks.  They would have been sent into the city to fend for themselves, but Jesus put a stop to it.  And isn’t that exactly what He’s done for us?  Without Him, we’d be forced to try and make our own way spiritually.  But that would be impossible, because we started our spiritual journey as dead people (Ephesians 2:1-3).  And as you’ve probably figured out already, dead people can’t come to life on their own.  They – we – need help.  And Jesus – the bread of life – provided it.
• We see it in the calming of the storm.  Without Jesus, the disciples on that boat could have perished.  Even though they were adept at navigating the seas, they were essentially helpless in that storm.  Thank God for God, right?  They needed help, the kind that only Jesus could give them.

“I’m here for you, and I’ll always be here.”  That was His message.  And we as His followers have a real responsibility to respond to that message with our complete dependence on Him.  That dependence might show up in different ways in different lives, but the motivation is the same: we realize that we can’t be dependent on ourselves or even what Jesus offers – our dependence and trust lies in Jesus as a person, the bread of life.

And when we get to that realization, Jesus is no longer just another hungry guy beside us waiting for lunch – He’s the lunch provider.  And Jesus is no longer a distant guy on the seashore while we’re in the boat of life perishing in a monsoon – He’s right there with us, stilling the storms of life.