It's one thing to say "Amen, Jesus is the bread of life." It's entirely different to live as if He's the only bread for every starving soul you encounter every single day. Today we're confronted with both the satisfaction Jesus offers and our responsibility to share it.
John 6:35 "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst.'"
What does bread do on a physical level? It saves us – literally gives us life. It sustains us – keeps us going because we need to continue eating. It satisfies us – fills us up.
Jesus says, "I am the bread you really need. You can fill your stomach with the bread of this world, but I am the only person who can fill your soul."
Jesus is asking you this morning: Are you hungry for something more? Are you hungry for something that the dinner table can't satisfy?
Here's the essence of Jesus's claim: I'm as important to the soul as food is to the body. And just like physical bread, it's not enough to look at a meal – you must eat it. You can't spectate. No one can come to Jesus by proxy. No one can eat a meal for you. You have to partake.
It's one thing to be interested in Jesus. It's one thing to be associated with Jesus. It's entirely another thing to come to Jesus in faith.
And how much does this bread cost? Isaiah 55 says it's free: "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; you who have no money, come buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." Then Isaiah asks a penetrating question: "Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?"
Why do you spend your life chasing that which produces no eternal satisfaction but only leaves you feeling emptier than before?
Jesus says, "I am the bread of life, and he who comes to me will never hunger again, never thirst again." And if you don't partake of this bread, Jesus says you will die, because your soul is empty and unsaved.
Now let me put up a hypothetical picture: imagine a malnourished baby boy with flies on his eyes and a pot belly. If you're unmoved by emotion and compassion at the sight of this malnourished boy, it tells me something about who you are. We would be profoundly moved by the sight of a starving body. We would rally and say, "What do we need to do?"
But here's the challenging reality: We can be profoundly moved by that and be completely unmoved by the reality that every single day we rub shoulders and cross paths with people who have a malnourished, barren, starving soul, and apart from Jesus Christ, they will go to an eternity in hell.
Are you unmoved by that?
It's one thing for us to say "Amen, Jesus is the bread of life." It's entirely different to live as if He is the only bread for every starving soul that we encounter every single day.
If you've tasted the goodness of God, then you want to be a part of dispensing and bringing other people to Jesus Christ, who is the only one who will save them, sustain them, and satisfy them.
People may hide behind their smiles. They can hide behind their bank accounts. But Jesus says their souls are starving because, as Pascal says, there is a God-shaped vacuum in their heart.
In the hectic nature of your rhythm, have you grown comfortable with the reality that there are starving souls around you? Are you part of bringing them to Jesus who will satisfy and save them?
1. Who in your life shows signs of spiritual hunger, even if they're materially successful?
2. How has tasting Jesus as the "bread of life" changed your own satisfaction and priorities?
3. What would it look like for you to be actively involved in bringing spiritually hungry people to Jesus?
Stay dialed in.
