Non-Perishable Food

Jan. 1

Read: John 6:1-34

Non-Perishable Food

Happy New Year!

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.” (v.26)

I love the fact that Jesus uses bread as the metaphor and imagery to describe who he is and what he is doing. The vast majority of us LOVE BREAD. It is so good. There is nothing like fresh bread. Jesus says that these people traveled across to the other side of the sea to find Jesus because they had eaten their fill of his bread!

When they finally find Jesus he is on the other side of the sea teaching in the synagogue, he challenges them by asking what it was that they were working so hard for. What exactly were they striving after? Jesus says that they came not because of the “signs” but because they had “eaten their fill of the loaves”. Here is the truth, we can spend our entire lives chasing after “food that perishes” and neglecting what will actually matter for all eternity. We can work so hard for the “bread” of this world which has temporary benefit and meanwhile miss out on what Christ is giving which will never perish or waste away. Jesus cuts to the core by asking what it is that we are spending our life chasing after, and in the end will it be devoured and wither away or will it remain steadfast and carry us into eternity?

As we start a new year, it is worth taking a moment to let the words of Christ sink in. It is interesting to think that the people he was talking to had all traveled across the sea to see him. In a way, they were “seeking” Christ… but towards what end? Were they coming - motivated by the “signs” - and seeking to receive from him “food that will endure”… food that will allow them to truly survive? The answer is no; Jesus says so directly. Their motivation was simply their stomachs. They had “eaten their fill” and wanted more of the “loaves”. Jesus is more than happy to work miraculously to feed the people… he had already demonstrated that. God feeds the hungry. The problem starts when we lose site of the bigger picture and all we are thinking about is this world and our stomach. Jesus didn’t come to simply give bread… he came to give eternal life! Jesus didn’t feed those people simply to “fuel them” so that they could have more food the next day… no, Jesus fed them so they would be alert and ready to receive the greater “food” that “the Son of Man will give to” them. (cf. v.26) Jesus wants us to be motivated to follow and seek him out by “the signs” - he wants us on the move because we have been given eyes to see the work of the Father in this world. This is the “food we work for”. It is possible to be in that field of 5000 and eat the bread Jesus touched yet miss out on eternal life. Most of the time we think that if someone experiences a miracle that they are guaranteed to “believe in Jesus” and “accept Christ”. This is not the case. There are many who ate the bread of the 5000 or those who tasted manna in the wilderness, and still perished without eternal life!

So for 2023, what food will you be working for? Are you laboring for something that is fleeting and passing… something that will “perish” ? Or are you working towards Christ, and receiving from him “food that will endure” and stick with you into eternal life? Let this be a year that you “see the signs”; a year that you are sensitive and aware to the mighty works of God all around you. Might we be a people energized by the work of the Lord! May this be a year that you find HOPE rooted in Christ. May this be a year that we ask from Jesus and receive “living water” and you begin to eat the “living bread” of the Lord. As amazing as it is to be one of the 5000 that are fed, or to receive manna in the wilderness, it is even more stunning, important, and necessary that we receive JESUS who is the truer and better “bread from Heaven” sent by the Father. Hear these words from Jesus:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (v.32,33)

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (v.35)

“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.” (v. 47-50)

Don’t spend this next year or the rest of your life chasing after “bread” that will rot. Don’t even spend it chasing after manna. Spend it running towards Christ. Labor for that which will endure, not what is wasting away. Happy New Year everyone. Love you guys. - JDP