44 No one can come to me unless they are drawn to me by the Father who sent me, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God. He has seen the Father. 47 I assure you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life.
Reflection
As with many passages of scripture, we are better served if we read the preceding and following verses. My suggestion is to read the whole of chapter 6 (linked above).
This chapter is where Jesus feeds the 5,000, which didn’t include women and children, who also ate. By verse 15 the people were ready to make Jesus their king. Jesus knew this and walked across the Sea of Galilee to escape them. Regardless, the next day they found him on the other side of the water. But Jesus knew their hearts and said, “I assure you that you are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate all the food you wanted. Don’t work for the food that doesn’t last but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Human One will give you. God the Father has confirmed him as his agent to give life” (vv.26-27).
What is OUR reason for seeking Jesus? Is it for earthly benefits, or something else? Jesus knew that the crowd that wanted to make him king was now ready to walk away.
Jesus told the crowd , “I am the bread of life,” in verse 48. But he had already told them that in John 6:34 and told them again that he was the living bread in verse 51.
Do we want the “living bread,” and all that it includes, or just someone that will give us WHAT we want, WHEN we want it. Do we want to make Jesus into our cosmic butler?
Obviously, we do want living bread. But we still want earthly things, too. Just like when my first wife was dying and I’d prayed repeatedly that she would be healed, and I was reminded that this world isn’t my home.
Let us always want Jesus to be our living bread.
by Rick Reed
For Pondering & Prayer
I know Jesus is the living bread that I want, but my faith was rocked when my prayers for healing were not answered. So, I think of the Bible song, “This world is not my home…” And when I truly believe it, everything is so much better.
Prayer: Lord, help me to always believe in you as the living bread. Help me to remember home isn’t here, but it’s heavenly. Thank you for always being my living bread. Amen.
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