“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:35-37)
No doubt most of us would admit at this point that our world is in a very chaotic state. Wars and rumors of wars, civil unrest, violence, climate change, cultural upheaval, gross immorality promoted as good, are things which seem to overwhelm us. Yet the fact is, God is in control. We find great relief in Jesus’ promise that all who believe in Him have not just eternal life, but true life here and now, despite our tribulations.
Jesus called Himself the bread of life. Now the ancient Jews, most ancient peoples in fact deemed bread to be the staff of life, the cornerstone of nutrition, that which supported physical life. By calling Himself the Bread of Life, Jesus was saying that He is the cornerstone of life, as indispensable as bread. What Jesus told them was something hard for them to understand, hard even for millions of people today to grasp and accept: Jesus is the source of all life, physical, spiritual and eternal, that He is God Himself.
The reason why many today reject this today is because they want to be in control of their lives, they want to be accountable to no one but themselves. This is what so many people today live in turmoil, fear and sin. They want to earn their way into heaven, whatever form it takes for them. Jesus takes away that option for only He is the source of life. only He is the gateway to the Kingdom of Heaven. Only He is the source of comfort and peace in this world.
Faith is granted by God to all He calls. By faith we believe in Jesus as Savior and the source of eternal life. By faith we give Him our life here on earth and place it in His hands. It means sacrifice, surrender, obedience, and holy living in the midst of a dark world that is going in the opposite direction. It means following Christ when it hurts to do so, when we, like Elijah the prophet, face persecution from those who hate Jesus, or when we encounter ridicule from our friends and relatives who see no reward in what we believe. Faith is supernatural power of Christ working in us enabling us to believe and trust in Him even when the physical evidence tells us otherwise.