What Type of Bread Do You Eat?

“Bread, in all its various forms, is the most widely consumed food in the world”. France has Brioche; Tortilla, the flatbread from Mexico is a staple in many homes; Foccacia and Ciabatta hail form Italy; Eastern Europe was known for their contribution of the bagel and all the way from the India, Nepal and Bangladesh we have Chapatti, a pancake like bread traditionally cooked on a large flat skillet or griddle. [Insert the incredible smell of fresh baked bread here]

In John chapter 6 Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” And then He expands on this statement with these words, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever… whoever comes to me will never be hungry.” Now, if you can pull yourself away from the physical cravings of your taste buds, you will realize that Jesus is speaking metaphorically here about bread. There is no doubt that God provided mana for his people in the dessert during their exile from Egypt to meet their physical needs but, the true bread from heaven comes to us to fill a much deeper spiritual need and that is our need for salvation. We have to wrap our finite minds around the idea that “eating” the bread is a metaphor for faith in Jesus; Jesus is making the point that faith in Him is what will sustain us till he comes again to be with us.

Whether or not you choose to eat bread (in the physical sense) that is a choice each of us has the option to make. In our culture today, many people have primarily focused on their earthly, materialistic need for sustenance and survival, forgetting or putting aside their spiritual well-being.  We all have the opportunity to accept the “living bread” that is offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who died, rose from the grave and lives today with his Father in heaven. Have you had the life transforming experience of tasting the living bread freely offered by the master bread maker? Its incredible taste will last forever, that is a promise that we can all stand on, a promise that will never be broken.