John: I AM...the Bread of Life

I am the Bread of Life: he that comes to me shall never hunger, and he that believes on Me shall never thirst.   

John 6:35

I absolutely love bread – any kind, any form.  I learned how to make bread many years ago, and there is nothing quite like the smell of fresh baked bread to start the stomach growling and the mouth salivating.  There is a wonderful Montana Gold bakery in Carytown where you can experience not only the sights and smells, but tastes as well through their “free slice” policy.

How ironic, then, that I cannot eat most bread. I am gluten-intolerant, and cannot eat any bread that contains wheat, barley, or rye flour.  You can enter any grocery store, walk through the bakery or the bread aisle, and choose a loaf of bread for which you will pay $2.00-3.00.  If I want to eat bread, I must go to Carytown: not to Montana Gold, but to the health food store, where I can purchase gluten-free bread for $7.00 a loaf.  The cost is highway robbery, but the ability to eat bread is worth every penny.

Jesus called Himself the Bread of Life.  He is the everyday staple that we need in order to sustain spiritual life.  If we come to Him for sustenance, He promises that we will never hunger and never thirst.  This concept becomes especially clear if we link this verse with Matthew 5:6:  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.   If we desire to be like Christ, He will pour into us His life, His character, His love.

Living Bread come down from heaven,

Broken, shared, distributed.

Feed us, gathered at this table

With Your grace unlimited.