“The bread of God...gives life to the world.” (John 6:33)

I love going to Jeni’s ice cream in Charlotte and sampling creative flavors like goat cheese with red cherries, gooey butter cake, or sweet cream biscuits & peach jam. Each tiny spoonful bursts with satisfying flavor. 

Am I like that with Jesus, satisfied with just a “taste”? A lightning-fast devotional in the morning before I rush out? A quick praise for a gorgeous sunrise, ignoring all other manifestations of His goodness as I plow through my to-do list? At the end of the day, am I left unsatisfied? Just as I wouldn’t take a bite of Jeni’s and head out for work, assuming I’ll have energy for the day, I shouldn’t be satisfied with just a “taste” of Jesus for the road, assuming that will suffice for the day.

Certainly, bread sustains us more than ice cream. God didn’t send a Jeni’s truck into the Wilderness. Bread-like manna sustained the Israelites every single day. The Passover bread, even unleavened, gave strength for the journey out of Egypt. Satan tempts a famished Jesus to turn stones into bread. The meal of Jesus-multiplied bread and fish allowed 5,000+ people to listen comfortably to His teachings. 

Ingesting bread, absorbing its nutrients, satisfies and fuels us for work, but we always need it again. Wouldn’t bread that never spoils but always satisfies be worth seeking? Hear Jesus’ claim after He has fed the multitude: “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will never go hungry” (6:35).

We’ve moved beyond physical hunger, haven’t we? How can I partake of that Bread? 

We have to take in more than crumbs. We have to ingest Jesus, absorbing all His teachings, immersing ourselves in His ideas through sermons, Bible studies, prayer, and then putting into practice what He’s revealing to us. Thus, we take in His very self, becoming more like Him. As we do, Jesus provides spiritual sustenance for today, certainly, but this diet also prepares us for life eternal.

We don’t want just a taste of Your goodness, Lord; we want the whole store of flavor after flavor after flavor. And we want the scoop, please, not the tiny tasting spoon. That is the life You offer: sustenance for today which “wells up to eternal life” (John 4:14).

Are we too “full” of our own busy-ness, our own good works to “hunger” after Jesus Himself, the Source of bread that truly satisfies? Are we satisfied with just a taste of Him? If you hunger for more, a whole buffet awaits. Perhaps your first “plate” could involve lingering over your morning devotional, focusing on a longer prayer time, or setting your watch to remind you throughout the day to pause in gratitude. Let’s partake of the Bread of Life all day long.

*Psalm 34:8

If you’d like to read or re-read the overview/summary of this week’s passage, you can find it here.