John 6: 57 “As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on me will live because of me.”
I used to puzzle about the words of Jesus, telling us to eat Him and thereby live, because He was the ‘true bread’. Especially at the time Ordinance Service, when unleavened bread and the ‘fruit of the grape’ were blessed and given out, as Jesus had told His followers to due, in remembrance of Him, after His return to heaven; the bread representing His flesh and the ‘fruit of the grape’ His blood. Many times Jesus has talked about eating and drinking, in regard to Himself, and has explained the meaning of His words, within scripture, with more examples. John 6: 33”For the bread of God is he which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.” More explicitly, Jesus names Himself, as ‘bread from heaven’, V48 “I am the bread of life. “ V 35 “And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life, He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’”
To eat food and drink food, is not only essential to our health and well being, and cannot be done away from food and drink, or by just having the food close by. Our best health is assured when we eat good nourishing food, on a regular basis. For most people eating food and drinking fluid, is a pleasant time, which evokes pleasure and lasting memories. As I think about these things, I can understand more clearly, what Jesus was meaning, by ‘so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me’ V57, last part. There is no uncertainty in the words of Jesus for me, I will live because, I have fed on Him. Neither is there any uncertainty in the words of Jesus, as to Who sent Him, and from what place He was sent. He was sent by ‘the living Father’ (who lives in heaven) and He himself lives because of the Father, and as God’s Son, can give eternal life to all on earth who accept His offer. As ‘heaven sent bread of life’, Jesus is revealed as the One who, facilitates, nourishes, supports and grows our spiritual life, unto eternity. He is revealed in the Scriptures all through, in an intimate way, and to eat freely from those words, means that we will not suffer for lack of knowledge of Him and will ever satisfied with the spiritual food He is. Jesus knows we need to be very close to our continual source of spiritual nourishment, and by using the analogy of eating and drinking Him, He denotes this needed closeness and regularity. But to read is not enough, we need to believe what we read and by faith accept and apply His promises, as our dear and only Saviour, so gradually we take on more and more of His character.
‘We are what we eat’ so to speak. All our bodily cells are composed from elements that come from the food we eat; and there are countless different elements, in the right mix and concentrations, that are essential to optimum human health and function. Modern science is finding out all the time, of the importance of hither to overlooked elements that are good for maintaining health. It is true we can apparently function with inadequate amounts of essential food elements; thinking we are alright. Or in fact, knowing we are not, but not exerting ourselves to do anything about topping up elements that are in adequate supply. Sometimes we do not know how short we are, or how less than in optimum health we actually feel. It can be exactly the same with the individual spiritual life, we must make the effort and give the time, to imbibe Jesus and abide in Him, on a daily basis, to grow and remain in spiritual health, and it cannot be done by feeding on the spiritual experience of someone else, to the exclusion of growing one of our own with our Saviour.
Thank You Jesus for loving me, and seeking me out so I can seek You out daily, and be nourished and grown by You on into eternity, with much joy and praises ascending in between.