An Appetite Check . . .

 

Today’s devotional says my appetite for righteousness should equal my appetite for food and water. The idea of severe hunger and thirst is foreign to me. If either happens, it isn’t long before food and drink are available. I don’t fast. This discipline is used to encourage deeper concentration on spiritual matters, but I get such a severe headache that this purpose is thwarted and I’ve had to find other ways to focus on Jesus.

However, food and water aside, I do have a hunger and thirst to be like Him. For this, I need the Holy Spirit. Also, it is important to have no desire to walk in the flesh. The NT says,

Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5:16–17)

This passage goes on to list things like idolatry, strife, etc., yet I know the subtle fleshy traits too, like boasting, wanting to out-do someone, jealousy, self-pity, complaining, gossip, and other ‘little’ sins that spoil my fellowship with Jesus. Wanting nothing between Him and my heart gives me that hunger for righteousness that David writes about:

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1–4)

This is a paradox: my continuous and intense desire for righteousness is continually satisfied by Christ. But it never goes away. One church leader said, “To be hungry is not enough; I must be really starving to know what is in [God’s] heart towards me. When the prodigal son was hungry, he went to feed upon husks, but when he was starving, he turned to his father.”

Yes, only God can satisfy this kind of hunger and thirst. If I try anything else, I’m more than disappointed because anything else is idolatry and sin, deepening the hunger and never giving satisfaction that has lasting value. It took years to learn this, but looking back, the hunger was always there. I am so thankful that Jesus has also always been there.

Jesus, with David I say, “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.” (Psalm 17:15) Even as most experiences on earth are temporary and unrelated to eternal bliss, this one is different. Someday I will begin forever with You and that hunger and thirst will melt into full satisfaction that never ends. For now, I’m so glad that You give me a taste of who You are and of Your tremendous ability to meet all my needs. I look forward to seeing You fully, face to face, as You are — the glorious One, my Bread and Water of life!

DO THIS: Read Philippians 3:1–14. What does it mean to place confidence in the flesh? How did Paul define true righteousness? How challenging is it to think this way about myself?`

 

Where else can we go?

After a busy day exploring new plans and ideas for our lives, my husband and I came home with our minds full and curiosity satisfied. However, a sudden and unexpected emotion fell on me. Our plans will involve good things, but some losses. I realized that my strong emotion was grief.

This stayed with me all night. As I read the following passage of Scripture today, I wonder if God was using this emotion to help me identify with the losses felt by Jesus.

In the following passage, the Lord offers eternal life to those who will believe in Him. He tells them that the intimacy of this belief will include participation in His very life. Most of them don’t get it. They were following Him, but this was too much for them. Because they did not believe, they turned away and were lost.

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 

Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 

But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” (John 6:47–65)

Jesus offers life and they grumbled? He offers them intimacy and they thought this was a hard saying? As I read Jesus’ next words, a wave of emotion hit me, like grief. Is this what Jesus felt?

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”  (John 6:66–67)

He’d offered them eternal life, even His very self. He would be their source of strength, their very sustenance as they walked with Him. And they didn’t get it, or didn’t want it, so they walked. I can hear the sorrow in His voice as He turns to the twelve, knowing that one of them would betray Him. “Do you want to go away as well?”

Is there a worse feeling than being abandoned and left entirely alone? He offered them His eternal presence and they walked away, as if to leave Him abandoned and alone. Of course He was never alone as He Himself had that eternal life and intimacy with His Father that He now offered them. Yet there is such great sorrow in His question.

But then Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68–69)

Peter had reached that place in his spiritual journey where he realized there is nothing else or no one else who can offer and deliver eternal life. He knew that Jesus was no mere teacher or prophet. He knew that he had no other options. He would stay, even though he didn’t fully understand what Jesus was talking about.

Jesus’ must have smiled, not for His own sake (as I would have in that same situation), but for delight that Peter, using “we” and speaking for the others, would accept the offer even though it was a hard saying and he did not really get it. His acceptance was not about knowing everything, but about knowing Jesus. He knew this blessed and Holy man was of God and from God. He trusted Jesus because of who He is, not because he could wrap his mind around all that Jesus said.

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Lord, I feel the pathos in Your question. Yet I also feel the delight in Peter’s statement of faith. This describes how I often think when faced with perplexities and questions about You that I do not understand. If I cannot figure out life, I’m faced with the same dilemma; to whom shall I go? Only You have the words of eternal life. No one else can guarantee that. No matter how strange Your words seem, I know who You are and have experienced You as the Bread of Life. Whatever else life brings, I can find all the sustenance that I need — in You, even when I don’t understand.

To Live is Christ — the Bread of Life

Almost every time we pray before a meal, we offer thanks for the blessing of God’s abundant provision. I ought to do the same every time I open the refrigerator door or go into my pantry. The Lord is generous as He gives us our “daily bread.”

Actually, I bake our bread most of the time, but on occasion we buy bread at a store or bakery. The price can range from a dollar “on special” to five dollars or more a loaf. I’ve not figured the cost to make it, but even then, bread is not free.

In the Bible, bread was both an important part of Israel’s worship and a symbol. Old Testament sacrifices included bread. Ritualistic Showbread was placed weekly in the Jew’s place of worship, then removed at the end of the week and eaten by the priests. The showbread symbolized God’s presence with His people.

After the Israelites fled from their bondage in Egypt, God fed them with Manna that fell miraculously from heaven. They also remembered this Exodus annually by eating unleavened bread for seven days.

In the New Testament, Satan tempted Jesus who had been fasting. He said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ ” (Matthew 4:3–4).

Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” which could be a request for physical food, but also spiritual nourishment. He called Himself “the true bread from heaven,” “the bread of God,” “the bread of life” and “the bread which came down from heaven.” John 6:51 says,

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.

Symbolically, Jesus is my heavenly manna, the spiritual and supernatural nourishment given by my heavenly Father and available to all who open their hearts to Him. (See Revelation 2:17.)  Jesus used this symbol on the night before His crucifixion also as an invitation.

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body’ (Matthew 26:26).

By offering His body, Jesus was not only the sacrificial Lamb slain for sin, but also the Showbread of God’s presence. He is the Bread of Life for His people. We may eat of Him and with Him, finding in Him forgiveness of sin and eternal life. In keeping with the symbolism of bread and eternal life, Isaiah 55:1-2 offers the same invitation as Jesus offered. 

Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.

The Bread of Life gives me life, spiritual nourishment, satisfaction, and delight. Best of all, this Bread is without price — freely available to all who come to Jesus and ask for it.

To Live is Christ — who is my life

When Jesus talked to the crowds, I’ve wondered if some of what He said was more for those who would read His Word later since no one seemed to understand it at the time. The verse in my devotional reading is one of those sayings.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (John 6:51)

The Jews who first heard it would remember the manna that God sent from heaven to feed Moses and their forefathers in the wilderness. It was unlike anything they had seen before, but gave them the nourishment they needed. It was bread from heaven and they knew it.

That means Jesus made a claim that was not entirely foreign for them. However, their minds were not able to leap from the physical manna to the spiritual intent of Jesus’ words. Verse 52 says, “The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, ‘How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?’” This made no sense to them.

Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:53–58)

If they were confounded before, this added to their confusion. The disciples grumbled also. They didn’t understand that Jesus was speaking in spiritual terms. He was talking about the intimacy of knowing Him, a deep relationship in which His people would participate in Him. He becomes not only our spiritual nourishment, but our very life as well. Because of His presence in me, I will live forever.

I shared this once with a Jewish friend. He retorted that it was very presumptuous to claim that I knew I had eternal life. He said that no one can know that. I’d agree — if I based my reason for eternal life on the same criteria that he used. In his mind, eternal life is a decision God makes based on whether a person is good enough or not. This is the opinion of many who assume that a place in heaven is earned by good deeds and a clean life.

The problems with this are many. For one thing, no one is perfect so where is the line drawn? I wouldn’t want to put that decision on anyone, not even God. It conjures a pitiful scene where some squeak over the line and others fall just short.

The other problem with it is that it makes useless the death of Christ. If we were not sinners in need of a Savior, then this perfect man who is God would not have had to die. Not only that, He would not make the claim that anyone who “eats this bread will live forever” because salvation would not be about Him but about those who pass muster when their deeds are evaluated.

The Jews did not like what Jesus said about eating His flesh. They took it literally and were repulsed. The disciples had that same image come to mind and were grumbling. John 6:61–66 tells how Jesus took them aside and asked them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.”

He knew that out of the many who followed Him at that time, some who did not believe and would betray Him. For this reason, He added, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

Jesus laid down a dividing line. It wasn’t about good deeds or being good enough. It was about having a God-given faith that drew people to Jesus and caused them to have this deep relationship with Him. At that, some of his followers knew that they were hanging around for the wrong reasons. They were not on the right side of the line. Verse 66 says, “From this time, many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”

For me, this speaks of a continued walk of faith. God wants me to trust Him and cling to Jesus. My salvation is not about what I do but about who I know, and the One who knows me. It is about having the life of Christ and participating in that life.

Out of that faith and relationship will come good things, but I know that apart from Him, I can do nothing. To live is Christ means always being aware that He is my life. Without Him, I cannot please God.

To Live is Christ — eating right

My daughter cannot eat bread. She isn’t celiac but has a problem with gluten. I cannot imagine going without bread, even though Jesus said that I do not live by bread alone. . . . I think that I could, or at least I did.

Lately I’ve not been eating regular bread, only the sprouted grain variety. Yesterday I had some regular bread and my tummy didn’t like it. I’m glad this is not true of all bread, especially when I read this verse from my devotional book this morning.

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. (John 6:51)

Jesus talked to a crowd that chased after Him when they heard He had multiplied a few loaves of bread into enough to feed thousands. However, He knew why they were there. He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” (John 6:26–27)

They didn’t get it, but He kept talking. He told them that He was the living bread, the source of eternal life, but they had to eat this bread to have that life. They still didn’t get it.

Neither did His disciples. After the crowd was gone, they asked Jesus about this “hard saying.” In part, He told them, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

Since I became a Christian, I’ve looked at many different views about Jesus. Almost all of them have no idea what it means to “eat” the flesh of Jesus. Some think it is a symbol. Some think it is a horrible cannibalism. Without the enlightening power of the Holy Spirit, I agree that this is a strange and hard saying. Yet God explains the key to understanding Jesus’ words through the words of Paul: 

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:13–14)

Without the Holy Spirit, no one can fully understand the Bible. Even with the Holy Spirit, Christians get truth “here a little, there a little” for that is the way of God. He knows what I need to know. He does not give me all of it at once. To do so would be like trying to eat a bakery full of bread. My body could not tolerate it. Instead, God gives me a small slice at a time, just what I need. In the beginning, my first taste of Jesus meant that He gave me Himself. In doing so, He now lives in me and I have eternal life.

Since that day, the Spirit has fed me many things. For instance, Jesus is the Word of God, the living Word for sure, but also the written Word. It is this Word that I feast on, reading, chewing, digesting — knowing, remembering, understanding, obeying. By doing this, I am feasting on Christ. He becomes my spiritual nourishment and sustenance. Without a proper spiritual diet, my spiritual life would weaken into uselessness.

Using the same ‘bread’ analogy, Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

In this verse, the Greek term translated “word” is rhema. It means “that which is needed for the moment.” In other words, God gives me the portion that I need for each day, my “daily bread.” I cannot gorge myself. He controls the portions because He knows me as His created and adopted child and knows what I need to be strong and live for Him.

I marvel at the wonderful care of God. He gave me spiritual life in Christ then feeds that life by drawing me into His Word and near to Him. No banquet could taste better or be more important that sitting down to a meal with Jesus.