Bread from Heaven

"Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

 

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

 

Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

 

So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

 

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

 

“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

 

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

The story is told of an African man named Johnston who found himself against the walls of life (homeless). He had reached the place where he said “life was not worth living.”  Johnston reminisced on the life he once lived: travels, good food and many friends - a glamorous, self-centered, and self-fulfilling life. But now, he had nothing, save one banana as his final meal.

 

Johnston went into the forest and climbed a tree. He took off his raggedy, dirty clothes and threw them down to the ground. He decided he would eat half of the banana, keep the other half for the next day and then jump to his death. Unfortunately, the half banana slipped from his hands. He watched as it fell to the ground. To his surprise, Johnston saw three persons run to the foot of the tree to take up his old dirty clothes. He saw three other persons grab up the banana peel he had thrown down. As he continued to watch, he saw four other persons fighting over the other half of his last meal.

 

As Johnston watched, he could not help but see the joy on the faces of the people below who had received and shared his clothes, the peeling and his “last meal,” the banana. Johnston slowly climbed down the tree. He said to himself, “if God can drop clothes and food from Heaven for people worse off than me, God will continue to provide for me.”

 

John reminds us that Jesus is the “Bread of Life,” the One who provides for us now and for all eternity. As you read this devotion, if you have not given your life to Jesus, you are invited to seek Him, the Bread of Life, and to introduce Him to someone who hasn’t had the opportunity to feast on Him.

Gracious God, thank You for being the “Bread of Life” -  for giving us direction, transforming our lives, and for discernment. Thank You for the joy that comes from knowing You. May we find ways to share this “Bread” that will help others come to know Your saving grace. Amen!

 

Gifty Smith is a probationary deacon from Flora.